tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70036670574766433922024-02-19T18:21:32.435-08:00Radical BeatA project of underground music journalism, fringe commentary and everything in between.RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-74941947753906421502023-11-30T16:19:00.000-08:002023-11-30T17:02:19.912-08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/deft" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DEFT</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A Declare Emergency Flyering Testimony</span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="329.46674722015507" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/iV-73xd2z-B75LQlEOLpSZPWu3DnVtgfB0aN9aFjchBQjGbrRjhlsAx34ijxpRUKYm_GQFViuJKvavykBaoNHN5o3-pb4zQabqMWxon6z8Rqa8nDoI-JiVwpqWeFc0euzO0vg1lsfZJzXGdqKlB14A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: -22.4667px;" width="438" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Credit: </span><a href="https://autonomedia.org/product/shut-them-down/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Autonomedia/Dissent Network</span></a></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Declare Emergency’s systematic mobilization strategy is modeled on approaches that have been used with great success in other <a href="https://a22network.org/en/" target="_blank">A22 Network</a> countries. This approach centers around locally-based, clearly planned, accountable, and well-supported leaflet-based recruitment campaigns.”</i></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">Healthily navigating the overnight train from Florida to North Carolina is a challenge on par with trying to alert people to the gravity of the climate emergency. An urgent horn blasts constantly in the middle distance, but inconsistently, never providing closure nor completely receding. Lights, equally, blare enough to prevent any meaningful rest but not enough to illuminate very well. Everyone tries to sleep through it all, with varying degrees of failure, at least in the cheap seats. And in my case at least, disease spreads, whether it's COVID due to a lack of fresh air or the inconvenient infections of impoverishment, misinformation and distraction. It’s a tall order, in other words.<br /><br />But unlike a <a href="https://t4america.org/2023/09/07/amtraks-path-to-world-class-service/" target="_blank">chronically undermaintained Amtrak train</a>, I’m getting ahead of schedule…<br /><br />I don’t remember exactly how I ended up on <a href="https://www.declareemergency.org/" target="_blank">Declare Emergency</a>’s email list, but it seems to have happened around early July. They were a welcome addition to my seasoned (i.e. now mostly unread) inbox compared with some of the <a href="https://thebaffler.com/latest/positively-begging-you-alaigh" target="_blank">ethically questionable nonsense</a> that mysteriously appears there no matter how often I unsubscribe. In September one of Declare Emergency’s newsletters went out advertising for mobilisation workers: paid part-timers to assist with flyer distribution in aid of growing a non-violent civil disobedience campaign. The central goal of this campaign (hopefully obviously) is to secure an emergency declaration from the government. Kind of a dream job if you’re a) in need of money for the begging bowls of the rentier class and b) riddled with a few decades of pent-up climate anxiety. I emailed them back.<br /><br />One of the things that most appealed to me about the campaign is that this first step in their mobilisation strategy is completely offline. The process starts with a small crew doing four intense days of mostly indirect flyering (vehicles, noticeboards, communal spaces, etc), with the goal of getting out 5,000 humble sheets. These flyers advertise an introductory meeting to the campaign at the end of the week. A few social gatherings and non-violent civil resistance trainings later and these people are ready for the next action week and/or to continue gathering further supporters.<br /><br />Online mobilising is obviously essential to any campaign at our current point in time. But the thought of getting to act on behalf of the planet while actually traversing it holds a refreshing appeal in these <i>Black Mirror </i>times of diminishing deposits of digital dopamine. Not only do the campaigners get to step out into the sunlight, those receiving the flyers get notified of something local that’s happening the old-fashioned way. Even for those people who are uninterested or hostile to the proposal (hence the high volume approach), that has to count for something. At one of the most successful weekly meetings since the start of my involvement, it transpired that none of the six attendees were even active on social media, leaving their brains room to absorb the messages printed on paper rather than gloss over them like another furiously ignored email.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="459" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ju3X0PsT2bfoy0Fvynmiw5G2DmV4dbw7qTbofX74q1T2lr3ND5g_t2Nq-mVh9oC4nTe8kgZLcQGBw-8sxzIz5iTTiDv1zG_LCPD5iaPj0zGTcOfpweKWL_B-103B6hAAuVLX9odAIh1O-3qsYaV3wg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="345" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plant-based messaging in packs of ~100</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">This approach also neatly sidesteps (at least in part) the problem of the Silicon platforms being designed for successful use <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-tUhFpbXLk" target="_blank">primarily by their fellow businesses</a> and other “uncontroversial” actors, rather than by any sort of social movement. I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg would even be able to comprehend something as analogue as a billboard trying to convey a message to him. Our political and literal ancestors relied on distributing bits of paper for centuries; it’s a small reminder that we need to look back for answers, rather than just pressing on like the monkeys with nuclear detonators that we are told we must be. And for anyone concerned about the optics of environmental-types wasting reams of sliced trees, it’s probably no worse than the resource throughput of sending out a vast landslide of virtual invites.<br /><br />There were yet more compelling reasons for me to take on this role in <a href="https://trianglefreepress.org/about-us/" target="_blank">The Triangle</a> (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill). The deal negotiated would see me travel to North Carolina to get ensconced among an existing chapter for two weeks, then return to my (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/15/hurricane-category-6-this-is-how-world-ends-book-climate-change" target="_blank">still hopefully existing</a>) home in Tampa Bay for a further period doing communications work. Being a dedicated non-driver and minimal-flyer (if not flyerer), marooned in a town where poor people using free buses is seen as a <a href="https://www.cltampa.com/best-of/2023/goods-and-services/best-way-to-get-from-beach-to-burg-without-a-car-if-youre-not-homeless-16418603" target="_blank">problem worthy of correction</a>, I tend to be left with limited opportunities to see the great outdoors or experience new locales. For years I’ve heard that North Carolina has somehow retained much of its natural beauty, that it attracts all sorts of cool granola-crunching people from the surrounding states, that it’s somewhere other than the rapidly decaying plastic-wrapped toaster oven that is Florida. I can confirm all of these things to be true.<br /><br />During my time working and living with Tim Martin I learned that he is as passionate and dedicated to the cause as he is humble and considerate. In April of this year he and another Declare Emergency supporter, Joanna Smith, <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-drop-charges-against-joanna-smith-and-tim-martin/">took part in an act of non-violent civil resistance</a> at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. Attempting to draw attention to the children who are and will continue increasingly to suffer due to climate breakdown, they creatively wiped water-soluble paint on the display case of Edgar Degas’ sculpture <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Dancer_of_Fourteen_Years" target="_blank">Little Dancer of Fourteen Years</a></i>, a piece made in honour of vulnerable children of the late 19th century. They caused no damage to the work of art and peacefully awaited arrest. For this heinous outrage the FBI were brought in and the pair were each slapped with charges that carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. (<a href="https://chuffed.org/project/97874-legal-fund-for-tim-and-joanna" target="_blank">#FreeTheDegasTwo legal support fund.</a>)</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/tpYKWS7zbdg3_5vEwPirOdXxpk1ObRhqzOCtRX7CFEHk8uWkAyf_xBUY9bacRKLu9dhsIUiOHnJmaMNWiBcR6KGmn_bj5odCM94ueedLzSsUDjSdnzGA_3Kh_RGI9egtvtc5bVcmFM6cGBEQqKTpNw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="399" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The joys of offline mobilisation</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite still dealing with the legal aftermath of that action, I saw immediately that Tim had no intention of resting on that former admirable glory. We bonded quickly as he made sure all my visitor needs were met, distributed flyers with a requisite enthusiasm and disseminated even more once it became clear that I had become ill. He has sought to smash his previous flyering personal bests in the weeks that have followed, with increasing participatory success at the introductory meetings. Tim also found time to take care of his sons, maintain his independent business on the side, and attend what seemed to be a never-ending stream of daily Declare Emergency organisational meetings. His kitchen - a site of much solidarity over my two week visit - is stocked with granola, too.<br /><br />The actual flyering was mostly a relaxing and quiet activity, with ample time for small talk, strategizing, solo contemplation and sightseeing. There were, inevitably, a small number of run-ins with employees feeling defensive of outsiders in their workplace parking lots, but for the most part our interactions with the public were of an encouraging nature. Sadly diminished as my own shifts were, it was a valuable mental audit that despite decades of messaging failure from the powers that be, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/10/25/how-americans-view-future-harms-from-climate-change-in-their-community-and-around-the-u-s/" target="_blank">the majority of people in the U.S.</a> are somewhere on the spectrum between concerned and supportive and ready to engage in resistance.<br /><br />And speaking of encouraging nature, a word on one of the recuperation retreats to the wild that my host provided in our downtime. William B. Umstead Park, much like its host planet, is <a href="https://www.nctripping.com/umstead-state-park/" target="_blank">surrounded by ever-encroaching industrial battering rams</a>, such as some of the state's busiest highways and the “local” international airport. Aided by thoughts of our collective history, and a partial deafness keeping the sounds of internal combustion at bay, I was able to suspend my disbelief and imagine for a while that I had descended into an unspoiled and dense thicket of towering trees, and with it a world free of existential emergency. I thanked the trees for their flyering assistance, continued resilience and emotional support.<br /><br />From what I’ve seen working with other participants of the Declare Emergency campaign in recent weeks, the positive traits that both Tim and the trees possess are found broadly among their ranks. Offer them your efforts, and you too can organise alongside dedicated people who get it, visit new places, experience nature’s wonders and appreciate them while they remain, and get off the internet, however fleetingly. The environmental movement can be a rollercoaster of emotions, no doubt, but even when things go frustratingly wrong or careen off plan, they can be considered a good yarn, an adventure, an interruption in the capitalist hellscape grind and logic of unimpeded productivity. Whatever happens we can say not only that <a href="https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/louiseharris/we-tried" target="_blank">We Tried</a>, but that we lived. Just be sure to pack a mask for the ride.</span><br /></p>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-50452576374607998562020-01-02T11:39:00.000-08:002020-06-08T12:44:57.631-07:00<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Local Release Roundup</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thursday, January 2nd, 2020</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Originally aired on Radical Beat Radio on <a href="https://www.wmnf.org/events/alternative-frequency/" target="_blank">Alternative Frequency</a> (R.I.P.)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://acoupstix.bandcamp.com&source=gmail&ust=1591726160825000&usg=AFQjCNFATIhVx2lqMqJvoHtxreCtl8H_mg" href="https://acoupstix.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acoupstix</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stoop Coupx</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Self-released, 2019 </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Pete rapper Acoupstix wants in on your front porch, but unlike some Washington-backed injustice in Latin America he wants to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">share</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the stage with the elected government of the house (ie. you). This November releases title is a play on the artist’s name (Acoupstix is spelt with the word ‘coup’ in the middle, Boots Riley style), but I’d more accurately describe the experience as a stoop squat. It’s all about bringing out good social interactions, like if some people took over a luxury condo building downtown and opened a coffee place where the fusion restaurant is supposed to go. Acoupstix’s choice of stoop juice is definitely caffeinated (mug mug mug), with his playful persona moving around over minimalist mid-tempo jazz-hop beats. I’m also reminded of the likes of Digable Planets and Jamiroquai in some of the track themes, such as positivity (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spite</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wiseman</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), humility (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Righteous</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), small pleasures (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coffee</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), and being good to one another (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rain</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). Within these posi vibes Acoupstix indulges in occasional aggression and accumulation brags but is generally kept tethered to Earth by the beats, where, for better or worse in this style, the beautiful instrumentation sometimes absorbs the rapper like an artistic swirl in a hot cup. While Coup's character is generally enough to avoid the record becoming wallpapery, perhaps what it needs is some kind of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blown-out hip hop cover of Cock Sparrer’s </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DD5jPNbvyZ7w&source=gmail&ust=1591726160825000&usg=AFQjCNE7kkchcEs-t5wHrS2EklO-3SadEw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5jPNbvyZ7w" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re Coming Back</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - an observation in no way spurred by staring at the Acoupstix emblem <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of what appears to be Guy Fawkes fresh from his </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DYow_BJeb8TI&source=gmail&ust=1591726160825000&usg=AFQjCNGP2mOagF6Mo4OUnmOJK5YqakiiJA" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yow_BJeb8TI" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epic Rap Battle with Che Guevara</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, winking from a remixed Liverpool Football Club crest.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acoupstix is also active in the community, appearing to spend a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/radicalbeatwriting/posts/851913018525895" target="_blank">good amount of his time</a> imploring Mayor Rick Kriseman not to let sewage spill into Tampa Bay. Local levels of coffee consumption are no excuse for your bad infrastructure spending and the bay itself should not hold the tint of a dark roast. So instead of Kriseman, from the album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stoop Coupx</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, this is </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://acoupstix.bandcamp.com/track/wiseman&source=gmail&ust=1591726160825000&usg=AFQjCNFsNNp_D6uzkVjcjnkXhzkM2-YxKw" href="https://acoupstix.bandcamp.com/track/wiseman" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wiseman</span></a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">.<br /><br />(Also broadcast was the <a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2019/03/low-season-four-more-songs-ep-self.html" target="_blank">review for the Low Season release</a> <i>Four More Songs</i>.)</span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-70667182551711033842019-12-31T12:23:00.000-08:002019-12-31T12:23:36.947-08:00<div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Local Release Roundup</b></span></span><div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Boxing Day 2019</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Originally aired on Radical Beat Radio on <a href="https://www.wmnf.org/events/alternative-frequency/" target="_blank">Alternative Frequency</a> (Thursday Mornings at 5am)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3Dz_TYmUFN7C4&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNF3H_Qs1sy33ALsHT4L31G5b7GP3w" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_TYmUFN7C4" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Car Bomb Driver</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">S/T EP</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-43e3ce98-7fff-209a-5ca4-e28b46985db6" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Hawk, 2019</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the most PG-13 songs that Car Bomb Driver has ever written is about fast food, organised religion and global attitudes to labour and consumerism. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chick-Fil-A Is Closed On Sunday</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Dave Reeder’s fantastic sandwich hunt EP opener unleashes a whole slew of topics for analyst nerds to get into. For example, the line “nobody gets a day off in India or China” led me to learn that Chick-Fil-A’s uniquely American mix of ideologies just recently launched beyond these shores. </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-international-opening-first-location-in-the-uk-2019-10&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNE_ZtDMtvuqgdx1dvoRVcj7cyn9LQ" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-international-opening-first-location-in-the-uk-2019-10" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In October</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> they opened a location in the English city of Reading (home of the famous festival), only to have any potential lease renewal </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/18/chick-fil-as-first-uk-location-will-close-after-pressure-from-lgbtq-rights-group.html&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNGVWYxq57NLl7SJftavsza5UPmvgw" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/18/chick-fil-as-first-uk-location-will-close-after-pressure-from-lgbtq-rights-group.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ruled out in under a week</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> due to pressure from gay rights groups. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Best Withnail impression]</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3Dig3pcF-M4LI&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNEEmyRbY0rVvMdWievvoDpVkbAi0A" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig3pcF-M4LI" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ll have none of that Biblical bigotry nonsense here!</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We would, however, happily allow a secular reason to keep a business closed on Sunday. Probably a good thing that CBD (not to be mistaken with the chicken-friendly Center for Biological Diversity) never perform outside a 15 mile radius of downtown St. Pete. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, so these songs have nothing going on underneath the surface when it comes to message, except the incidental ability to mock pseudo-intellectuals like me who attempt to take a deep dive. Oftentimes bands that harp on about the lack of serious agenda in their music are sloppy and forgettable. Not so with CBD, who have perfected the art of playing silly but not dumb with a quarter century of rhythmic punk gigging. Not vocally aggressive enough to be hardcore, too instrumentally meaty to be considered pop, it’s a sweet spot that comes across almost as well on these 9 minutes of wax as it does watching them live. Car Bomb Dave is a brave auteur, daring to write openly of our worst instincts like the misogynist that lives inside even granola-crunching geeks on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ordinary Guy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, while side B of this titleless titan is a family affair inspired by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Don’t Want To Grow Up-</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">era Descendents, all </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DDq1ZMswLYV4&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNEXRHq86oxE1RB2ctZFKutoFyloBQ" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq1ZMswLYV4" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sauce-drinking parents</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3Dt9vmxeUYJ4s&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNFvXg_Hp7zKmJGEZ5vgYipaVip8yA" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9vmxeUYJ4s" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shaking babies</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and catchy questioning of your own standards. Rest assured though, it’s all done for the kids in the end; release label Red Hawk Records is run by local 9 year old Charlie.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to Dave for the copy of the record, delivered to me in the dusty guts of the Tampa Bay Times. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-8556b111-7fff-e211-9c8d-d0ef378a5f65" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can buy it from </span><a href="http://www.certifiedprrecords.com/red-hawk-records.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Hawk here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DBG2eWtDpm4g%26list%3DOLAK5uy_lwz_poWapqPnSIjsDf3inFHsANhSwNhls&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNGJ3YzRceEMoercguRU8cphrkfBfQ" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG2eWtDpm4g&list=OLAK5uy_lwz_poWapqPnSIjsDf3inFHsANhSwNhls" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon Ditty & DJ Hurley</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Factory Recall</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-b096696d-7fff-d818-1d0a-33e9b47fd0b2" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Low Five, 2019</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d like to dive deeper into the lyrics of Jon “Dunedin Brewery” Ditty, but work and obligations bear down at all times. Knitted amidst the billion words printed in the sleeve of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Factory Recall </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the theme that Ditty is feeling much the same way on any given day. The man’s mind is buzzing from start to finish, trying to keep a weird elongated critical eye on the big power struggle issues and the personal minutiae. The politics slip in where they have space like a feed scan on a smoke break in an economy that never seems to pay enough or a referential retreat into the rock bands that used to bring you so much comfort (Less Than Jake, At The Drive In, Rage Against The Machine). </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Junk Mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the namesake </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DyaJ6QOp7AWw&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNGqcMXfkSImJGcSjbhbJ51Ky3-vnw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaJ6QOp7AWw" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Circle Jerks</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> track for the digital age and just as short, corporate spam another thing we don’t have time for in any sense. Ditty's voice is dope and there’s </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://genius.com/2335494&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNHi02eII5PyC2_z2b-csFjO7qHMhg" href="https://genius.com/2335494" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no time to chill</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We’ll never be able to afford “the greyest of your poupons” in this service factory of instability. If your brain hurts from trying to follow Jon’s slapping lips focus on the lovely choruses, features from the likes of Reed Scahill and<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-dcc2ab0b-7fff-c1da-b6e1-61b80b7bd92e" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ceschi </span></span>Ramos, and the beats from DJ Hurley that are more easily appreciated on his new cut </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DC3n6su2dgO0&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNHooExTR2aYIagA8LvJ4HPp7lFQSA" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3n6su2dgO0" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MAAT’,</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and great for when you need a break from working hard on the worthy and the not.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>You can buy Factory Recall from Jon Ditty's <a href="https://jonditty.com/album/1047007/factory-recall" target="_blank">website</a>. </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://realityasylum.bandcamp.com/album/hyacinth-thrash" target="_blank">Reality Asylum</a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hyacinth Thrash</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a6ec8d72-7fff-3f2d-05f4-a3e2c48b1e29" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Self-released, 2019</span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I daresay that a band named after a Crass song should have known better than to announce their hiatus on UK election night, even if I am the only person in the middle of that Venn diagram of really caring about both. Has a man not suffered enough?! It was hard to stay upset though, when the next night at their final planned gig Reality Asylum kindly gifted me their recent album </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://keepingupappearances.fandom.com/wiki/Hyacinth_Bucket&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNGP_W1wbLFtz4wqBhydzi6bTmVZIQ" href="https://keepingupappearances.fandom.com/wiki/Hyacinth_Bucket" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hyacinth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Thrash </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(in a sexy orange number), and reminded why in those distant winter days of February 2018 I had </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/02/reality-asylum-johnny-mile-mushmind-planet-retro.html&source=gmail&ust=1577908218868000&usg=AFQjCNFD6pnNP5um_E8exz1m-mOEEavD5A" href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/02/reality-asylum-johnny-mile-mushmind-planet-retro.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">described their music</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as “a soothing balm in the night.” The expertly layered bleeps, beats and squeaks that the band are known for are all here, somehow soft, warm, lush, menacing and banging all at once. Like the contrast to be found thrashing around in a field of bulbous, fragrant flowers, presumably. For all the justified bluster around what felt like wild ‘n fast Reality Asylum live performances there’s a majority of musically contemplative cuts present here, songs that poke around in your brain, whisper in your ear and lovingly slip their warm gloves around your neck. Reality takes hold, and in a final paradox, you embrace the darkness, and all the streaks of beauty that come along for the ride.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>You can stream and buy Hyacinth Thrash on <a href="https://realityasylum.bandcamp.com/album/hyacinth-thrash" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>. </i></span></span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-48484987637994957242019-11-28T13:29:00.000-08:002019-11-28T13:29:43.972-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-ec904d97-7fff-1cce-d371-922ff32c19a6" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rutterkin/Piss Test/Critical Hits</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, November 24th 2019</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">VFW Post #39, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/2019/11/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second Sunday Matinee at the St. Pete VFW begins with a style for Veterans of Former Waves. </span><a href="https://criticalhitsfl.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Critical Hits</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have the shimmery ballads and power pop(py) elements of the various filaments of 1990s skinny indie, punctuated by singer Victor’s pipes that could probably be compared to many an American falsetto vocalist of the time but I’m going to go with Mark Morriss of The Bluetones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for some reason. The track </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">News Feed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> does a critical hit on that </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/11/antarctigo-vespucci-love-in-the-time-of-email-polyvinyl-big-scary-monsters.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Antarctigo Vespucci</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> mark, not just in the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love in the Time of E-Mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> type theme but in the warm janglies just-in-time-for-Florida-winter character. Regarding this number, I would later see the majority of the band sitting side by side staring at their phones in an appropriate moment of melancholy. A Guided By Voices cover takes place at an appropriate time. The band’s self-titled debut EP can be heard at the bandcamp link above.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Presumed drug lovin’ criminals </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/JohnnyLaaw/videos/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piss Test</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> down from Gainesville boot off with something immediately reminiscent of Bad Religion’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re Only Gonna Die</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (never a bad way to go) and with the first of a series of audience member face-level kicks from front woman Deb of the kind that </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-problemaddicts-kevin-k-band-silver-alert-the-bends.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greg Graffin</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> probably hasn’t been able to do in several decades. Such unnerving physical antics and a particular kind of vocal aggression can’t help but remind me of the now basically defunct </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/11/bitemarks-meatwound-permanent-makeup-uncle-mince-the-bends-st-petersburg-fl.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BiteMarks</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (also of Gainesville), underlaid with snaky bass and proper precision drumming. Maybe Deb’s fearful comic alias Johnny Laaw entering the building in the form of a police hat didn’t help, but the sadly-smallish matinee crowd that came here to chill before another week of selling out can only muster so much energy, leading the singer to sarcastically call for “more silence” as the set nears a close. I’d perhaps be more inclined to go off on one if I wasn’t unacceptably sober in preparation for some theoretical future piss test. Piss poor, no pot to piss in, piss-off-prison-industrial-complex, I’m holding a piss in because I’m trying to write this review in 3 hours because time is a commodity, etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://rutterkin.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rutterkin</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">form the second sandwich half of today’s confusing Critical-Hits-melange-hybrid-band (big ups to the once again dependable multiple meal provider </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/unclemincesworldfamousseitan/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Uncle Mince</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). The music of these </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/leadfootpromotions/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leadfoot</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> favourites is something of a melange itself, earnest and emotional without sacrificing propulsive instrumentation, hooks and melodies, like The Ataris or the not utterly shit spots of Blink 182. Their performance today seems to be lacking some of the raspier vocal elements of their EPs (such as the recent </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sanguine</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). Perhaps singer-guitarist James is in too good of a drunken mood for rasping, with a jovial gentrification rant involving various terms to the effect of “bougie, condos, integrity, John Travolta motherfuckers, fuck fuck fuck fuck. Fuck-knuckle!” A full length Rutterkin album is on the way and the band will be playing again this coming Sunday at the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/454057735209831/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Microgroove 8th Anniversary</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> gig in Tampa.</span></span></div>
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RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-35636669630404939442019-10-10T09:33:00.000-07:002019-10-10T09:33:46.500-07:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-333a8064-7fff-36d0-4b34-3c197c2c91b1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">GIT UP, GIT OUT, CUT THE BULLSHIT ARRESTS OUT</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Published at <a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2019/10/git-up-git-out-cut-the-bullshit-arrests-out/" target="_blank">Dissident Voice</a> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hundreds of people from across the Southeast converged on Atlanta on Friday September 27th for the Southeast Climate Strike & Rebellion. Organized by a coalition including Earth Strike and Extinction Rebellion, it came at the end of a global strike week called for by the school strike movement in which </span><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/27/over-6-million-people-worldwide-climate-strikes-largest-coordinated-global-uprising" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">millions</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> railed against the systems that are failing humanity. At least 19 were nicked for offences ranging from carrying PVC pipe for a trampoline prop to standing briefly on a piece of land designed exclusively for fast-moving </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/living-for-logan-jolly-fuckers-laser-mouth-broken-things-low-season-fubar.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">metal death machines</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The plan was to occupy an intersection in the swanky commercial centre and planet-eating business district of Buckhead, and hold a family friendly festival with speakers, music and colourful banner waving fun. But business as usual means big pots of dosh for some people, so police made sure to squash that vision of community on behalf of their employers at every turn. Not quite grasping the way a low carbon transport system is intended to work, cops used a line of bicycles like riot shields to aggressively push activists back onto the sidewalk and prevent the occupation. Photos of riot police in the media, avoided; unquestionable dominance of car culture, sustained. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As several hundred relocated to Midtown via Atlanta's MARTA train (“almost like being in an actual city,” cooed Florida visitors), snatch squads continued to pick people up with flimsy excuses and instill fear along the way. A man from </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ExtinctionRebellionNC/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extinction Rebellion Winston-Salem (NC)</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was minding his business far away from the road when two cops meandered through a crowd and tackled him to the ground without warning for the crime of wearing a mask. Police also arrested a 17-year-old from the same chapter, then told local media that they didn’t arrest any minors (a claim that was later deleted from the </span><a href="https://www.ajc.com/atlanta-news-metro/ajc/several-arrested-during-climate-protest-buckhead/H12x6ljLjw33nAuj7byh0K/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">article</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when the journalist realised it was false) (chapter </span><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-fund-for-aidan-and-jon" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">legal fund</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></span></div>
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<span style="border: medium none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 253px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 393px;"><img height="223" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/aoGA37HTKLyKLlO-yDVzZa6N171x641AhAR6naC4i9C-TirgxKG2HSdCSc2waHsdzNcbqH3cDFPrwRUn8CXTSwzPv8Eq5ihSZur7FesrWtAvEqnogJtgJrnXHddgdpxTivYCIV0" style="margin-left: -33.2928px; margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having outmaneuvered the eco-friendly bike fuzz, a second intersection was then held for around 20 minutes. Unfortunately a lack of material blockades and numbers allowed police cars to find a gap and harass protesters out. After regrouping and eating together in a park, the crowd used a semi-consensus model to decide their next move. A march down a trail ended with a raucous noise being made in a shopping market. Coppers on bikes gave way to Fire & Rescue on bikes for no clear reason. The only group preventing safety were the APD (despite their absurd claims to be providing it) and self immolation was never on the official agenda. But if the cops keep blocking nonviolent dissent there's </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/15/david-buckel-lawyer-climate-change-protest" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no telling how desperate people will get</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as famines, extreme heat and societal collapse bear down on us. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, supposedly a progressive climate leader, has a standard plan to bring the city to 100% renewables by 2035. Naturally, </span><a href="https://www.environmentalleader.com/2018/06/atlanta-announces-new-ambitious-plans-to-reach-100-clean-energy/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">half</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of that will be achieved by paying someone else to make the cuts (through Renewable Energy Credits, aka offsets), and the pledge has the useful benefit of making many people believe that it is a commitment to carbon-neutrality when it refers only to electricity generation. Anybody that truly understood the latest science would know that carbon offsets are pointless when the entire global economy now needs to be decarbonised, would know that 2035 is </span><a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2019/02/new-deal-who-dis/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">too late for anything</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and frankly, would have ordered police to step aside and allow the mass action to go ahead, because this is a fucking emergency that threatens the safety of everyone on this planet. Instead, violent suppression, spurious arrests, helicopters and a tonne of cops were deployed to send the message that an actual adequate response to the armageddon that faces us is unacceptable. Token targets that fail to address the problem are all that will be tolerated in a city with a notorious sprawl problem and the </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-busiest-airports-2018/index.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">world's busiest airport</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (21 years running!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On that same Friday Boston rebels </span><a href="https://whdh.com/news/climate-change-protesters-block-bridge-in-boston/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">held a bridge</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for three hours with no arrests. Earlier in the week a </span><a href="https://extinctionrebellion.us/press-release-sep-23-2019" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">coalition of 2000</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> blocked the streets of DC leading to 32 arrests, while in San Francisco the financial district was occupied and a </span><a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Climate-protest-San-Francisco-Financial-District-14467235.php" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">massive mural</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was painted on the roads covering two blocks. Five were arrested in a roadblock in </span><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/09/23/denver-climate-activists-arrested/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Denver</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Despite the Southeast Climate Strike & Rebellion not going as originally planned, people still sacrificed for the cause, compelling the public to ask why they would do so unless we faced an emergency, and many lessons were learned. For one thing, when the Earth becomes unable to sustain human life, be sure to thank a cop.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Written in the style of </span><a href="https://schnews.amo.org.uk/archive/news558.htm#4" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SchNEWS</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (now freshly archived).<b> </b>A bail/support fund for the action can </span><a href="https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/extinction-rebellion-mass-action-bail-fund" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">be found here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. See </span><a href="https://extinctionrebellion.us/rebels-without-borders" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extinctionrebellion.us</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for more actions coming in October.</span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-80343544398645706842019-07-30T11:41:00.000-07:002019-07-30T11:41:44.058-07:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-d0956f10-7fff-1465-aec0-7681a9e186b6" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This review was never finished, but is being posted for the scraps of satisfaction that it might provide. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></span></span>Last edit was on November 16, 2018." Perhaps culture historians will use these unfinished insights to speculate on my writing methodology, and how it inevitably led to my dying as a penniless critic. An actual complete review can be found by our man Tony over at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/pennywise-never-gonna-die-epitaph-2018/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a>.</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pennywise</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never Gonna Die</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epitaph, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<img alt="Pennywise Never Gonna Die" class="img-responsive" height="320" src="https://www.punkrocktheory.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_style_square/public/87593_Pennywise.jpg.925x925_q90.jpg?itok=yPwQLFob" width="320" /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><a href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/hypocrisy" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/hypocrisy</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This link is for Jim Lindberg. If somebody knows how to get it directly to him, do us all a favour and make sure he reads it. Not only will it give him a litany of alternative terms for “hypocrisy” such as insincerity or casuistry, he can click the dictionary tab to make sure he actually comprehends what it means. He wrote a really decent book once, so he should be able to manage this problem he seems to have. The entire band might contribute lyrics, but ultimately, the singer is responsible for the words he spews and any inability he might have to tell his bandmates that they are California goofballs. Thesaurus.com: never set out to write without it. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I come out swinging with this criticism because there isn’t a whole lot else that I dislike about Pennywise’s newest album, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never Gonna Die</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps all his girls are now old enough (the first was born around </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Full Circle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) to start hating his guts and he’s remembering that youthful energy much more fervently. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bottomed out with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason To Believe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Kinda like the common view of the punk “explosion” itself. Seems to have come out of nowhere, but if you look closely, it built up over time. PW have been gradually improving their game throughout the decade. Making a recovery at all is hard for most artists, and their evolution through the 90s was slow, so I think it's impressive. It’s like the band made a ridiculously un-punk 10-year plan for getting back on top after coming to terms with the barrel of dishwater that was 2008’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reason to Believe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: record <a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2012/09/pennywise-all-or-nothing-whole-album.html" target="_blank">one album with a new singer</a>, then record old songs with the old singer, then finally one of new material, and for fucks sake, take time doing it. You can’t expect to just effortlessly dump something out like it’s 1993 and you’re still full of youthful vigour. Pennywise here have </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">taken their craft seriously</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> instead of phoning it in. They have reached inside and found some of that old magic. It sure makes those of us who have increasingly seen the band as a guilty pleasure feel vindicated for not chucking them completely out of rotation.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not that it particularly dampened my enjoyment of you at the time, Pennywise, but thanks for doing your least impressive work when I was in the optimal punk early 20s age bracket. Really appreciate it.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You wanted their output to mature with you. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Highlight </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">goodbye bad times</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The topics were never really the issue as much as the uninteresting way that they were delivered. The key here for non wordies or less wordily inclined is that I am loving most of these grooves without checking the album sleeve. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She Said</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in my opinion is a bit weak, a lightly spruced up version of a mid-career song with its warbling</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buried at track 11. Slipped in there - racists and trolls in the title track, little rioting Banksy piece on cover.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump. Never entirely understood the right-wing association with PW. Their rebellious but mostly spade-is-a-spade lyrics could be interpreted by different kinds of folks, which in itself is no bad thing. Was it because the 90s, the skate punk golden age, was also the pathetic high watermark of modern American liberalism, when Clinton was shoving through firebrand progressive policies like shitting out subsidized corn over Mexico and molesting young women? The only thing dumber than die hard fans of the Democrats is conservatives who don't see how right wing they are. Their unwillingness to really confront this audience is evident in the both the low volume and choice of quotes here: a Trump supporter could hear them, guess that on average the band is not his biggest fan, but still not hear anything that bothers them or makes them confrontational. Yes, Trump is slyly admitting, when he says he “loves the poorly educated,” that he is manipulating a perhaps ill-informed segment of his base. But he’s also appealing to those people, the ones given few learning opportunities, dumped on by neoliberalism and that the alter-globalization left failed to convince with decades of summit hopping.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The name refers to racism and hatred and stuff, but you know there were plenty of sneers. “Those clowns are still around?” or “are they really trying to reference the most overused statement about the status of a genre in the history of human expression?” </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not exactly Eminem but you can judge the political climate by how willing Pennywise is to alienate some of their hymn bros. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Middle age, not just pretending to be young (Time bomb)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blue album cover quality.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can hear </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never Gonna Die </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in full on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZMZxR9uxC-yIs2tYMLHLfYAWsoH2rWk" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Youtube</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-46078850162763683262019-04-17T19:35:00.000-07:002019-04-17T19:35:43.508-07:00
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">DEMAND CLIMATE TRUTH</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">Speech given at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/xrtampabay" target="_blank">Extinction Rebellion Tampa Bay</a> protest on <a href="https://extinctionrebellion.us/jan-26-day-of-action" target="_blank">national day of action</a><br /><br />Attention, people of St. Petersburg.<span> </span>We are here, as local residents and members
of Extinction Rebellion Tampa Bay to demand emergency action over climate
breakdown.<span> </span>We are here to call on all
levels of government to take such action, from the city, to the county, to the
state, to the country.<span> </span>This is part of a
national day of action across the US, and as part of a new international
movement against extinction.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">In October, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change released a stark report, calling for a 45% reduction in
global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, to avoid a runaway global warming
scenario that threatens all life on this planet. <span> </span>For the United States this translates to an
approximately 85% cut within a decade.<span>
</span>The report called for, quote</span></span>, "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society." Despite these urgent remarks, the IPCC is a historically restrained scientific body, with many commenting that these conclusions were still not honest about the urgency of our predicament. They must therefore be treated as a bare minimum baseline for action.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">When it comes to our local government here in
St. Petersburg, the most up-to-date publicly known targets for carbon cuts are
as follows. <a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/docs/Bloomberg%20Poster%20-%20American%20Cities%20Climate%20Challenge%2005.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span> </span></span></a><a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/docs/Bloomberg%20Poster%20-%20American%20Cities%20Climate%20Challenge%2005.pdf"><span style="color: #1155cc;">A 20% reduction by the end of 2020.<span> </span>A 40% reduction by 2025.</span></a><span> </span>And an<a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/docs/St_Pete_ISAP-Clean_Energy_Roadmap-FinalDraft-11152018.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></a><a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/docs/St_Pete_ISAP-Clean_Energy_Roadmap-FinalDraft-11152018.pdf"><span style="color: #1155cc;">80% reduction by 2050</span></a>.<span> </span>Looking at these numbers, we can discern two
things.<span> </span>The first is that there are
individuals within city government who genuinely care about climate
change.<span> </span>These targets would not exist if
that were not the case.<span> </span>So that is not
in question.<span> </span>The second is that city
hall knows full well that the targets the city is currently committed to are
not going to save this community or this planet from extreme weather.<span> </span>They have read the IPCC report.<span> </span>They have conducted a vulnerability
assessment of our region.<span> </span>If we do not
do what the science actually demands we cannot expect places less vulnerable
than here to do the same.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">So these are the four demands of Extinction
Rebellion, directed not just locally, but at all levels of government and all
of those in Tampa Bay.<span> </span>Governments must
tell the full truth about the climate and wider ecological emergency, reverse
inconsistent policies and work alongside the media to communicate with
citizens.<span> </span>Governments must enact legally
binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to
reduce consumption levels to no more than half a planet's worth per year.<span> </span>We must have the creation of a citizen's
assembly to oversee these changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for
purpose.<span> </span>And we demand a just transition
that prioritises the most vulnerable peoples, remediation for environmental
injustice and legal rights for ecosystems.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">These goals will obviously be a huge
undertaking.<span> </span>There will be many
challenges and fierce conversations about what it means to decarbonise our
entire society.<span> </span>But if governments will
not commit to these goals when they are so obviously necessary, we need to ask
why.<span> </span>Perhaps the most fundamental
obstacle will be a change in the primary objective of government.<span> </span>That objective is the reason that businesses
of increasingly obtuse value keep popping up in our community, why half empty
condos seem to be more important to local planners than having affordable
housing, and why resource use, centrally the use of fossil fuels, continues to
grow worldwide, and that is the pursuit of economic growth on a finite planet.<span> </span>Multiple major recent studies have shown that
you cannot lower your overall consumption of resources while increasing the
size of your economy.<span> </span>GDP growth will
wipe out efficiency gains every time.<span>
</span>And most of this growth does not even benefit average people.<span> </span>Year after year we are told the economy is
getting bigger and healthier, and yet millions of us continue to struggle
because most of those gains go to the people of the business classes.<span> </span>The rising tide is not lifting our boats,
because we cannot afford boats.<span> </span>While
you may be able to make certain energy switches and move numbers around in such
a way as to engineer a cut of 20% or 40%, you cannot make a 100% cut without
challenging fundamental assumptions about what and who our economy is for.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">Perhaps the St. Pete government already has
plans to improve their current targets.<span>
</span>That would be wonderful to learn.<span>
</span>To such forward thinkers we say do not think of us as adversaries.<span> </span>We are opening up political space for a more
honest discussion.<span> </span>Use that space to do
what you know to be necessary.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">Other governments in Tampa Bay are doing even
less to combat the climate crisis.<span> </span>In
Hillsborough County, energy planners are looking to spend the next decade
wasting a billion dollars, to partially convert Big Bend Power Station from
coal to fracked gas, a change that will not lower emissions
due to the methane releases associated with fracking.<span> </span>Utilities<a href="https://qz.com/1490832/two-utilities-promised-to-go-100-carbon-free-last-week/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></a><a href="https://qz.com/1490832/two-utilities-promised-to-go-100-carbon-free-last-week/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">across the country</span></a> are switching straight from
coal to renewables; this conversion serves nobody other than the executives of
Tampa Electric Company.<span> </span>Profiteers at
Tampa International Airport are hoping to spend the next decade increasing the
number of passengers in our skies by 73%, with no proposals for how those
planes will be less polluting or noisy, exactly when we must cut global oil use
by at least half.<span> </span>These are perfect
examples of efforts in the wrong direction.<span>
</span>In a society where we were being told the truth about climate change,
their approval would not be considered for a second.<span> </span>Those of us on this side of the bay must help
our neighbours to resist these projects, for it is our collective future that
hangs in the balance.</span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN">At this late stage in time, it is going to
take a mass movement of non-violent disruption to prevent oblivion.<span> </span>That is what we propose.<span> </span>We did not willingly pick this reality.<span> </span>These emergency demands are the result of
decades of political dithering over climate breakdown. <span> </span>Above all we are here calling for increased
urgency around this crisis.<span> </span>It demands
that all governments, media outlets, and everyone else in a position of power
goes in to work on Monday and begins to draw up a plan of public communication,
that explains to everybody in our society why everything must change.<span> </span>If your instinct is to ignore our message
today, or to dismiss it as idealism, consider the following quote from the
author Chris Hedges:<span> </span>"The message
of the rebel is disturbing because of the consequences of the truth that he or
she speaks."<span> </span>We are Extinction
Rebellion.<span> </span>We are rebelling against the
extinction of this community, and we invite you to join us.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<![endif]-->RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-68761686881903339032019-03-27T09:01:00.000-07:002019-05-20T09:04:57.019-07:00<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Low Season</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Four More Songs EP</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Self-released, 2019</b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="320" itemprop="image" src="https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1266689160_16.jpg" width="320" /><br /><br />If I had time to review the new <b><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=1485176881785790&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdK-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARBKYvPtqzro4SUEXdluLsUeSej4XHkE4lIinmQnfbRC4Q9yJMfx6GBj1PUNz9ktMyqBZHcKINlOo1GO%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://lowseason-fl.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Low Season</a></b>
EP, it would go something like this, but with far more unnecessary
political sidebars and references to hip hop shoehorned in. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">
"If the title of this melodic masterclass doesn't exactly impress you,
rest assured that St. Pete's Low Season took all the time that others
bands would have spent worrying about the packaging and put it into
crafting their songs. And p<span class="text_exposed_show">resumably,
all the time that some other bands would have put into applying layers
of Misfits paint to perform numbers with titles like <i>Melting Makeup </i>and <i>Lines Across My Eyes</i>. Each track sounds different to the others
and each is bound to be a blinder live. The <i>Four More Songs </i>EP is
another testament to brevity in a sub-genre that you should really have
the good sense to be sick of by now. And one of the four tracks isn't
even a 47 second jingle for <i>Adbusters Magazine </i>masquerading as a proper
song (see <i>Devil Inside My TV</i> from their previous offering)."</span></span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-76581962516010544802019-02-11T20:26:00.000-08:002019-02-11T20:37:39.540-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-ea05382e-7fff-fcf3-5fc6-211241e3a75b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worst Party Ever/Dollar Signs/Late Bloomer/Community Couch/Planet Loser</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, January 27th 2019</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lucky You Tattoo, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/2019/02/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a><br /><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About a decade. When asked how long I’ve lived over here, I’ve now reached the point where I can comfortably round up to that answer. Despite my gradual transformation into a hybrid accepted in full by neither culture, it doesn’t take much prompting for the old country to come screaming back into the focus of my mind. Take for example tonight’s first orbiters of the Lucky You nebula, Tampa’s </span><a href="https://planetloser.bandcamp.com/releases" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Planet Loser</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This dream pop duo is here backed by a full band, but my attention is still drawn to the Branglophile stylings of the permanent members. Guitarist Ethan is wearing a full-on sandwich board advertisement for Scottish soft drink Irn-Bru, while vocalist Amber is dressed like she just arrived from a chilly council estate, all hooped earrings and baggy tops (much of the rest of the U.S. may have become freezingly unliveable but it’s still winter down here nevertheless). Amusingly, it fits. Planet Loser’s rhythmic indie pop is music suited to the dark northern climes, the delicate lifting strength of three guitars and a calming female voice. Despite clothing choices, there’s much more that indicates a heartland 80s influence rather than of the decade’s tail end baggy scene; the intro to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feel You Breathe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sounds like it's going to be a cover of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Close To Me</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by The Cure. It’s no less enjoyable to realise that it’s not.<br /><br />My writing relationship with local favourites </span><a href="https://communitycouch.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community Couch</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has until now been series of near misses: arriving late to a gig they did with </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/08/piss-ghost-madison-turner-yankee-roses-lucky-you-tattoo.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piss Ghost (RIP) and Madison Turner</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; noting their cancellation of a September show in Richmond to push my </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/rise-up-ringing-climate-march-rising-tide-international.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">anti-hurricane agenda</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; hearing an acoustic set at the first Planet Retro Punk Rock Flea Market while I sat barely out of sight attempting to flog paper manifestations of stuff like this. I knew enough to know they’d be fun to finally witness properly though. This earworm queercore outfit channels self-doubt into community catharsis, as promised in their title. There’s a lot of physicality for an act named after a piece of furniture you sit your arse down on; frontfolks Stove and Glen perform sustained coordinated kicks towards drummer Eli’s face during one tune, and Stove’s vicious hugging towards the end of the set encapsulates some of the emotional mixing on display in the music. My pal Oliver jumps in at one point with a kazoo purchased from the </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WORST COMPANY EVER</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, one perfectly worthy of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liquid Sunshine</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lyrics “I can't pay my bills, I don't know how we'll eat / I'd pick up another job, but then when would I sleep?”</span><a href="https://latebloomer.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br />Late Bloomer</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from Charlotte, North Carolina, begin their set by thanking not just our St. Petersburg, but St. Petersburg of Russia. Careful now. The way things are going with this ever-widening conspiracy (</span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/progressives-helped-pave-the-way-for-these-russian-asset-bernie-smears-3aec7469dd22" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bernie Sanders</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/tulsi-gabbard-is-driving-the-msm-bat-shit-crazy-e4c3bfc312a1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tulsi Gabbard</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are now apparently Kremlin assets too), it won’t be long until every resident of this city is stripped of their rights under the charge of trying to build a covert Russian enclave in the middle of Florida. As their name might suggest, Late Bloomer -- like their 6131 Records labelmates Planet Loser -- are pretty deep in the nostalgia game, but at least it’s of a high quality. As they perform their respectable post-grunge college rock I can see the washed-out MTV2 video playing inside my head. You can see it too, because it apparently exists for the track </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hXneKpI31k" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life Is Weird</span></a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which itself harkens backwards with clips from 1950s television. If only we could recycle our physical resources as thoroughly as we recycle our culture. Strangely, both Scott on drums and Neil on guitar remind me of various underappreciated Culkin siblings. I would avoid making mention of the recently disbanded McCauley comedy vehicle </span><a href="http://thepizzaunderground.tumblr.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Pizza Underground</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, if not for the fact that the producer/engineer on Late Bloomer’s recent record </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waiting</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was Justin Pizzoferreto (known for his work with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.).<br /><br />It goes from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life is Weird </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life Is Ruff</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with tonight’s other Charlotte touring band, </span><a href="https://dollarsigns.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dollar Signs</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life Is Ruff</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a dog-friendly EP I would pick up (not to be confused with new one </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Need Some Space</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) both because I was excited to finally see this lot and because at the time of the gig I thought I had a job on the hook and was prematurely seeing my own dollar signs. Turns out I didn’t exactly, but other funding has </span><a href="https://abeautifulresistance.org/site/2019/2/9/new-deal-who-dis" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thankfully since come my way</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This is a party that sucks you in. Dollar Signs live are like The Front Bottoms plus Against Me! plus the trumpet bounce of Less Than Jake, fronted by Erik Button’s jovial inviting vocal style. Bassist Dylan Wachman tells of a strange incident that took place 30 minutes earlier at a nearby sports bar involving a man in a peacoat and his pee, only for the stranger in question to show up and defend himself by proclaiming that “I washed my dick before I left the house.” Inconsiderate bastard almost crashed the vocal of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Devil Wears Flannel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a great song (from last year’s </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/dollar-signs-this-will-haunt-me-a-f-records-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Will Haunt Me</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) that namechecks Orson Welles and Mozart, among others. It’s in the same vein of lambasting popular music as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m Better Than You by Kanye West</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, an old track that brought Dollar Signs to my attention years before West started donning his MAGA hat and talking a lot of foolishness.<br /><br />Being that it’s an all-ages, booze-free, essjaydubbleyoo sort of hang out, youthful vigour is often present here at Lucky You Tattoo. But in the case of Sarasota’s emo-ists </span><a href="https://worstpartyever.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worst Party Ever</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a significant subset of the crowd are constantly pogoing around the singer with an otherworldly level of enthusiasm. I was waiting for him and his mic stand to hit the floor amidst all the excited attention and the music to come to an abrupt pause. Worst Party Ever may or may not be styled after the dialect of Comic Book Guy, a nerd so insignificant that Matt Groening didn’t even give him a name, but their apparent popularity and riled-up base would probably net them more votes than some of the other 3rd parties out there. The music inspiring such a reaction is much more energetic than their Dashboardy bandcamp offerings might prepare you for. Cries of “four more years!” are met with the response “what the fuck is that?,” suggesting maybe that the political wing of the Worst Party Ever empire hasn’t yet been discussed. A word of advice: make a few well placed calls to the Russian embassy and Ye and you’ll apparently be unstoppable.</span></span></span></div>
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RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-41808167462802919232019-02-08T20:13:00.000-08:002019-02-11T20:14:44.635-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-81748a20-7fff-49fb-7003-fc77bce8e214" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NEW DEAL, WHO DIS?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Current Big Green proposals for a Green New Deal are coalescing around inadequate targets</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Published at <a href="https://abeautifulresistance.org/site/2019/2/9/new-deal-who-dis" target="_blank">A Beautiful Resistance</a> (aka Gods & Radicals) </b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Green New Deal is everywhere, perhaps in part because it has remained nebulous. Years, cuts and specifics are all over the place depending on who you ask. The U.S. Green Party, for example, has </span><a href="https://www.jill2016.com/greennewdeal" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">detailed plans</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for what it might mean because they were the first to champion the concept here over the </span><a href="http://www.gp.org/green_party_urges_congress_states_enact_a_green_new_deal" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">past decade</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, rather than just the past few months. Those plans include decarbonisation of the whole economy by 2030.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Events </span><a href="https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/demand-real-climate-leadership-from-our-new-congress" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this week</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> supported by a large number of green NGOs (such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, 350.org and Food & Water Watch) seem to be an attempt to clarify the current clamour. Amongst a number of admirable details they have settled on calling for </span><a href="https://1bps6437gg8c169i0y1drtgz-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Progressive-Climate-Leg-Sign-On-Letter-2.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">100% renewable energy by 2035</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (note that this is not the same as total decarbonisation, as it refers only to power generation), and the phase out of fossil powered land transport by 2040. No specifics are given for other emissions sources (such as the fastest growing sector, </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/11/tampa-bay-rebellion-why-we-need-non-violent-direct-action-big-bend-tampa-international-airport-right-now.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">aviation</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The phrasing for the electricity demand used in all documentation is some variant of “by 2035 or earlier.” It is my hope that the use of “or earlier” indicates a willingness to admit that 2035 is too late for any serious target, and has been included to allow for improvement at some nearby point. Because the people who drafted this particular sentence must know that when you give government a range of goals rather than a firm demand they will rise only to meet the easiest interpretation: it will be read as “by 2035, and not a minute sooner.” So the wording must be for the benefit of future activism.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What doesn’t make any sense in this scenario is why we would build this huge push for legislation that we know to be inadequate. We have taken this approach before and gotten nowhere. There’s no point going from half-honest to mostly honest about the climate crisis at this stage. These same NGOs are currently complaining that the Green New Deal </span><a href="https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=5729035-Green-New-Deal-FAQ" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bill</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> unveiled this past Thursday by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t explicitly ban fossil fuels. But the tone set by these demands hardly gives them steady ground for dissent (Ocasio-Cortez’s bill at least calls for net-zero emissions within ten years). As the media representative for Extinction Rebellion NYC, Rory Varrato, recently explained on </span><a href="https://youtu.be/zxdGlku1pxY?t=664" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Redacted Tonight</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let’s pretend like [the deadline is] tomorrow, because functionally it is. We know the inertia of this system, we know the obstacles we have to overcome, and 12 years might as well be a blink of an eye. Indeed we have something like negative 30 or negative 40 or negative 200 years, depending on where you want to peg the problem . . . </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we have less than no time.”</span></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this framing, you could make a legitimate argument that decarbonisation by 2025 -- one of the </span><a href="https://xrebellion.org/xr-us/demands" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">central demands</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of Extinction Rebellion -- is also too late, on the simple grounds that it may already be too late to avoid a runaway scenario that makes life impossible. But the date must unfortunately be in the future rather than the past. The only sensible deadline is not four numbers but four letters: ASAP. You will struggle to find a climate activist who disagrees with that by now. The sooner we can get to net zero, the better chance at avoiding decimation we will have. So why would we rally for a later date when we could rally for an earlier one?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To the argument that demanding decarbonisation by 2025 is unnecessarily steep and will turn people off the issue, let’s consider the recent IPCC report that got all this action supercharged. That report called for a 45% reduction in global emissions by 2030 (much higher cuts in high polluting nations) and the end of fossil fuel burning by 2050, so within that framework, these demands seem reasonable. But there are </span><a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/148cb0_a0d7c18a1bf64e698a9c8c8f18a42889.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">compelling</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2018/10/ipcc-keeps-feeding-the-addiction.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">arguments</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that the IPCC significantly underplayed the urgency of the situation as it has done in the past. For example, the panel used 1850 as its baseline year rather than the pre-industrial period of a century earlier, ignoring 0.3 degrees of temperature rise. They also ignored natural feedback loops, assuming that only greenhouse gases emitted by humans contribute to warming. The idea that there is any carbon budget that we can safely burn is a falsehood. This is what Rory Varrato meant by “we have less than no time.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You begin to understand why the Green Party plans aim for decarbonisation by 2030; some have been stating that this deadline is necessary </span><a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/12/07/scientists-1-5c-warming-limit-means-fossil-fuel-phase-out-by-2030/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for a number of years</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You begin to understand why Extinction Rebellion activists stepped up their messaging from “Oh Shit” to </span><a href="https://rebellion.earth/breaking-london-extinction-rebellion-says-were-fucked-block-access-to-downing-street/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We’re Fucked”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the weeks after the report. You may not know how seriously to take these criticisms, not being a climate scientist, but there's no controversy to the idea that every IPCC report in the past has been </span><a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/148cb0_a0d7c18a1bf64e698a9c8c8f18a42889.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unreasonably restrained to the point of negligence</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. To ignore the possibility that it may have been so again this time is nothing but a coping mechanism. Holding back the worst news has not stoked action up to this point. It is time we were treated like adults and told the truth.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another way to comprehend why the 2025 goal is the most sensible one being suggested is to look at targets that were being suggested by respected actors over a decade ago. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Guardian </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">columnist and Extinction Rebellion supporter George Monbiot wrote </span><a href="https://www.monbiot.com/2006/09/21/how-much-reality-can-you-take/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">extensively and compellingly</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the mid-2000s about the need to cut emissions in the rich nations by an average of 90% by 2030, with a greater emphasis on the earlier part of the period. It goes without saying that we have utterly failed to do anything of the sort. In light of this, and without the need to understand complicated scientific calculations, it follows that we must now meet an even higher cut in an even shorter amount of time. We have also learned in the intervening years that the situation is far graver than previously thought, for example lowering (at the behest of the Global South) the recognised upper threshold from 2 degrees down to 1.5. Thinking that we should have similar or perhaps even lesser targets today as those proposed in 2006 is, to put it politely, illogical.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I suspect 2035 has been picked based on what is deemed to be physically possible, politically realistic or socially bearable. 2035 is far enough away to be thought of as “the future”; there's a semblance of breathing room in it. Well, if we want to keep breathing, we don't have time to breathe. This Green New Deal coalition by definition acknowledges that the concept of “realism” is elastic, based almost entirely on political momentum and will, so let’s get behind some serious stretch goals. Speaking of politics, we might also consider how the difference between a 6 year timeline and one of 16 years frames our view of election cycles.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The former allows no room to worry about the next presidential pissing contest, as doing so would burn almost almost a third of the available time. The 16 year timeline allows us to continue engaging with that game and its soap opera entertainment. While it may be reasonable to assume that little will be done via the White House before 2021, the question is where do we wish to put our efforts? We can, as </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/2/4/1832106/-Daily-Kos-Democratic-Straw-Poll-February-4" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we are already being encouraged</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, spend our precious time debating the differences among the many candidates, whose theoretical eight year terms will still not bring us up to the main target date, giving them plenty of incentive to blather and stall and kick the can down the road as we have seen many times before. Or we can make an impact on the election passively, by building the boldest social movements possible and making those candidates chase us for votes.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s no doubt that the excitement for a Green New Deal has reignited the conversation around climate breakdown, and for that we should be pleased. This is not about being more radical-than-thou, nitpicking or trying to poach fellow activists. But the proposals sent to government offices this week risk channeling our efforts into a deadly end, and drawing attention away from those voices that are telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The time for fiddling over percentage points with confusingly different base years and sector parameters is gone. We must get rid of it all and fast.</span></span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-4181391608909692902019-01-21T12:20:00.000-08:002019-01-21T12:20:01.562-08:00<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="im"></span></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Last summer I was provided with some free calling cards courtesy of the lovely <a href="https://elizabetherrmann.wixsite.com/cardsforhumanity" target="_blank">Cards For Humanity</a> art project. To get feedback for the project I recently answered the following questions. The full results of these surveys will eventually take the form of a book and website. You can read the promo that I wrote for them in September <a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/promo-for-cards-for-humanity-radical-beat-portrait.html" target="_blank">at this link</a>.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. Briefly describe your business or gig in ±250 words.</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Radical
Beat is a writing/journalism project focused on the intersection of
underground music and radical politics. I've been writing about music
for about fifteen years, with the idea for Radical Beat coming about in
the last few. Basically, these are the subject areas that interest me,
and as my knowledge and writing abilities developed I came to realise
there was no reason not to bring the topics together, as there can be a
lot of crossover. I believe that cultural criticism is important for
brewing new ideas and promoting creative economies, and equally
important is political action, without which all the words in the world
have little importance.</span><br /><br /><b>2. What impact do you think you have on the community?</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />I
like to think that my writing encourages musicians to work on their
craft, to reflect on what might be working for them and to know that
some people are paying close attention to their efforts and what they
bring to the community. As for the political and environmental writing,
hopefully they help to spread new ideas and connect the dots between
various issues.</span><br /><br /><b>3. What do you hope to achieve? What are your goals? </b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />I
want to contribute meaningfully to scenes that have given a lot to me,
and build community to change the cruel systems that we live under. On a
more down to Earth practical level, a paid job writing about music
and/or environmentalism would be great!</span><b><br /><br />4. Do you do this for profit? If so, is it your main source of income? If not, how do you finance it?</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Radical
Beat has been done entirely during so-called free time. While the
occasional bit of money comes in from selling zines, etc, there's so far
no way I can see to pay my bills doing this. Even as a
pastime/interest with very little in the way of physical supply needs,
it's hard to do around the need to pay the rent. Projects like Cards
For Humanity certainly help.</span><b><br /><br />5.
How have the cards benefitted your business/gig or reputation? Have you
noticed any financial difference, such as the number of clients, sales,
hits, or gigs? </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">T<span style="font-family: inherit;">here hasn't been
any noticeable surge in interest since I began using the cards, but more
people have continued to follow what I do. They've been helpful mainly
in that I haven't had to worry about making low-quality cards of my own
and don't expect to for some time!</span><b><br /><br />6. Do you think well-made cards can inspire
other craftsman to improve the quality and originality of the art and
design scene in St. Petersburg? Do you feel a similar obligation to
uphold quality standards in the St. Pete arts community through your
work?</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Yeah, absolutely. A card
might seem like a marginal thing, which it is in a sense, but I can see
someone looking at a nice one and thinking "they put the thought and
effort into this. I should put the effort into my thing, no matter what
sort of thing it is." I do absolutely feel the need to hold my work to a
high standard of quality, hard and subjective as that might be in a lot
of ways.</span><b><br /><br />7. What differences do you notice between the social
interactions you have with people physically versus through online
networking sites? Do you think physical calling cards can help
facilitate in-person interaction? Do you find in-person interactions to
be more effective than online networking methods? How so?</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />A
physical interaction, even a short one, features some of the stuff that
I am always wishing for online. Questions, feedback, compliments, all
of which we are generally too distracted to have time to type out, in my
experience. As much as I bash materialism, the tiny dopamine hit of
getting a pleasant physical object (with an extremely small
environmental impact, to be fair) could help someone stay invested in
conversation, assuming they were somewhat interested to begin with. In
my case I am not sure if in-person interactions have led to many actual
page views, etc, compared to when someone has the real content to look
at, although that may be a fallacy based on the fact that most of the
work is online and that which isn't online I cannot track.</span><b><br /><br />8. Has
Cards for Humanity affected your outlook on voluntary arts barter? For
instance, instead of treating peers as clients, would you now be more
open to trading creative services with other local artists/craftsmen in
an effort to develop more meaningful, altruistic communities?</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />I
think faith in the concept of any kind of alternative economics like
barter needs to be constantly renewed, in light of the fact that
traditional economics is shoved in our faces and presented as "normal"
every minute of every day! So academically, no, I was completely on
board with this sort of thinking before. But it's a welcome reminder to
question ones own motives in all interactions and up our "don't be a
selfish atomised bastard" game. </span><br /><br /><b>9.
Do you think this project could be replicated and adapted by other
artists and designers to increase the camaraderie in the St. Petersburg
community? For instance, how do you (or might you) give back? Do you
think future unsolicited support for emerging artists should be
encouraged? Why does a quality arts community matter to you?</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Since
much of the criticism I write is generally positive it's already
promotional of other artists in a way (and occasionally, they are just
full-on promo pieces). I think one of the challenges here is that there
seems to be a general feeling among artists that art is not
sufficiently valued and they are underpaid already (which it's difficult
to argue with). On the other hand, if art is about being creative,
then being creative in your economic approach should certainly be a
topic for discussion, and indeed many artists do work for free or at a
loss. If artists of different persuasions are being underpaid then at
least they can help each other. So yes, this should absolutely be
encouraged. Without a quality arts community we have nothing but
gourmet dessert fooderies and horrific retail mazes, at which point we
may as well all just wait at home for the impending ecological
meltdown. </span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-28545145376698889352019-01-07T13:41:00.000-08:002019-01-07T13:52:29.140-08:00<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-25735fff-7fff-3a49-316f-0c060993481c" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">GETTING THAT GREEN</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Any climate politics so closely identified with the global elite in 2018 is dead on arrival.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- </span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/04/17/climate-change-denial-trump-germany/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate Aranoff</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, The Intercept</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This past Thursday was quite the ride for those of us following climate change policy here in St. Pete, just three days into the new year. Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Office of Sustainability & Resiliency held a </span><a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">number of events</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the first of which had a secret guest and special announcement regarding the city’s Integrated Sustainability Action Plan (or ISAP). The guest would turn out to be Michael Bloomberg, mega-billionaire financier, former Mayor of New York, and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action. With a current net worth of about </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/?list=billionaires#6a3557914178" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$44 billion and at least six homes around the planet</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, this man is an authority on the low-impact lifestyles that we all need to adopt.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He </span><a href="https://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/mike-bloomberg-announces-bloomberg-american-cities-climate-challenge-expands-from-20-to-25-cities-names-st-petersburg-20th-winner/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">announced</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that St. Petersburg was the twentieth winner of the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge. Having explained their climate change intentions, the contest winners (five more cities remain to be announced) will receive a support package and technical assistance to help implement them, including a Bloomberg Philanthropy team member to facilitate development of plans, training for local leadership and citizen engagement support to help get people on board. Supposedly this two-year acceleration program to help meet or beat target carbon cuts is valued at over $2 million. It’s not clear how much of that amount will be a flat cash donation to help implement the ISAP, though there is a reference in the documents to “rapid response grants.” Kriseman refused to comment on what exactly that unknown amount of money might be spent on, but the press release from the foundation suggests the city intends to scale up energy efficiency and renewable energy financing models, as well as the residential solar co-op plan.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1cuLodSyqQ" target="_blank">Announcement coverage from St Pete TV</a>)</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We might be willing to welcome the injection of resources and funds (especially as it constitutes a crude form of resource transfer from a wealthy source) and the stated goals of accelerating drawdown plans. But getting this from Bloomberg, the 11th richest person in the world (“I put the money in the foundation and they take it out”) may indicate significant limitations in thinking for participating cities. Bloomberg’s business class is not going to accept a message against the underlying problem of </span><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/12/why-growth-cant-be-green/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">economic growth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or even strongly against </span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/11/28/climate-change-cop23-michael-bloomberg-jerry-brown/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unfettered markets</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and what he tellingly called “the grassroots” (meaning not regular activists but city governments) will keep that in mind when writing future grant applications and drawing up plans. Consider the way Bloomberg utterly dodged a question from a Florida Phoenix reporter about whether he supported the idea of a Green New Deal Committee, a current popular demand that would bar politicians who don’t see a problem with accepting fossilised money. Instead of answering yes or no, Bloomberg fluttered on about not getting this done “overnight” (the Sunrise Movement that is primarily pushing the idea is demanding complete decarbonisation </span><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/green-new-deal-2622975118.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within ten years</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but go ahead and conflate those two timelines), about Trump, about the glorious national conversion from coal to fracked gas, as if he's never heard of methane emissions, or just doesn’t give a damn.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s also worth bearing in mind that just a few months ago, this “climate philanthropist” accused protesters blockading a pro-corporate Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco of being </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/rise-up-ringing-climate-march-rising-tide-international.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hypocritical fools</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> working against their own interests. Never mind that such summits still promote absurd ideas, like that </span><a href="https://www.globalclimateactionsummit.org/events/preserving-our-lands-with-carbon-finance/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">market mechanisms</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> can magically turn the threat of looming death for our planet into a bonanza for shareholders, or that the host Governor took millions of dollars in fossil fuel donations over his career. How’s Bloomberg Philanthropy going to react when Extinction Rebellion US and other movements begin to forcefully point out that this wishy washy, business-as-usual approach is why we have been failing to solve this problem for decades? That we need not the generosity of the upper class, but the restructuring of an economic system that </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/02/worlds-richest-10-produce-half-of-global-carbon-emissions-says-oxfam" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">serves them</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at our collective expense? What are the odds of these arguments making headway in local government with a Bloomberg Philanthropy employee sitting at the table?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later in the day came the ISAP pubic review & open house at city hall. While there was no formal presentation or explanation of the action plan, residents were invited to browse documents and vote for priorities in a series of categories. There appeared to be substantial support among those present for reducing all local emissions 20% by the end of next year, as well as for affordable housing policy and electric vehicle incentives. The 20% reduction by 2020 (based on a 2016 baseline) is now apparently a firm commitment by city hall, designed presumably to coincide with the duration of the Climate Challenge program, and it is followed by a goal of a 40% reduction by 2025. The final ISAP is not yet available to the public, but a recent draft and other documents are available at the city </span><a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sustainability page</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking at these goals, we might consider a few things. This is more than many governments in the US are proposing, to be sure, indicating an understanding of the need to make rapid cuts early in the timeline to lower overall total emissions. Local government officials act within an environment of complex systems much larger than themselves, that like all of us they must navigate as best they can, with not even the likes of Michael Bloomberg able to have complete control over all outcomes. But while there can be little doubt that there are people within official channels who genuinely care about climate breakdown, and who doubtless expended significant effort to get these plans put together, the simple, unbiased truth is that these cuts are still simply not deep enough given the need for the emergency measures that are now our only chance at survival. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are not in line with the </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/11/tampa-bay-rebellion-why-we-need-non-violent-direct-action-big-bend-tampa-international-airport-right-now.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">recommendations of the October IPCC report</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, let alone the position of </span><a href="https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/science/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">those commentators</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> who suggest that the IPCC was </span><a href="http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2018/10/ipcc-keeps-feeding-the-addiction.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not honest</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about the gravity of our situation. The most recent </span><a href="http://www.stpete.org/sustainability/docs/St_Pete_ISAP-Clean_Energy_Roadmap-FinalDraft-11152018.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">publicly available version</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the city roadmap (published in November) proposes an 80% cut by 2050, which, if it were to remain in the final draft, would indicate a catastrophic slowdown in efforts. Honest city employees are no doubt aware of this, and would hopefully welcome the political capital to expand the plans drastically. It's up to those of us on the outside to help provide them with that political space, by laying out the stark and unpleasant reality.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i><a href="https://xrebellion.org/xr-us" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extinction Rebellion</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is calling for the declaration of an immediate </span><a href="https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/blog/london-declares-climate-emergency" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">state of emergency</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over the climate crisis from all levels of government, a society-wide mobilisation to bring emissions down to net zero by 2025, and a much more participatory democracy to make sure we all get a say in these defining times. Extinction Rebellion Tampa Bay will be </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/339483663448806/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">officially launching</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> during a national day of action on Saturday January 26th. We invite everyone who supports emergency climate action to join us that day at 10am in Williams Park.</span>
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RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-51896376226472062172019-01-04T15:40:00.000-08:002019-01-10T15:45:27.137-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-6c7ff27c-7fff-22e3-355d-0643cda34744" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leftöver Crack</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leftöver Leftöver Crack: The E-Sides and F-Sides</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fat Wreck, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/2019/01/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WQ579tl7vBp_cJHkTeWWGSUKhpGIhuExLZmNwZXE95rN8cI_n1mLvcmaFF99I_PUbs8FdODQOnmm7AhhkeIH7_1uoTpZfD-8pvwbo01Sp2_4p3_S7OpJdk3dPuzudUhV1shXsRk" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's my latent, superficially non-denominational holiday gift to all punks, skins, outsiders, and those who feel in general that humanity is driving itself into the abyss. The Mariah Carey staple, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All I Want For Christmas Is You</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- a song so popular that 24 years after its release it just became the new </span><a href="https://qz.com/1507361/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">single day streams record holder on Spotify</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- is a subversive message of anti-consumerism. “I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree,” playing in every retail shithole in the West and probably beyond. You are now allowed to admit that you like it without shame. You're welcome.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If it’s good enough for Mariah, it’s good enough for the Leftöver Cracks of our world. It’s not necessarily the coolest thing to admit or a major indulgence, but I occasionally enjoy some Crack and company. With a planet so obviously being fucked from every direction, we need a vast variety of mental medicines. We need deep analysis, daring artistic vision, boring data-driven reporting. We also need simple messages that are easily understood, gut-based, emotional outbursts, the normal language of proper people. The Crackers fall somewhere along this spectrum, though it’s tough to say exactly where. Their subject matter and positions are often pretty far outside the mainstream, somewhat radical even for the punk sphere. It’s also quite easy to see a juvenile or shallow aesthetic going on, of the kind that causes critics to refer to them as </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/leftover-crack-constructs-of-the-state-fat-wreck-chords-2015/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“music aimed at Garbage Pail Kids,”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/the-interrupters-fight-the-good-fight-hellcat-records-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“that awful fucking band . . . whose particular din is enjoyed by nobody with good taste in punk rock ever. EVER.”</span></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Point is, it’s tempting to indulge in what might be considered basic skin deep revolt sometimes. Take for example the little number </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Baby-Punchers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> featured on this rarities collection that I am apparently reviewing. What could be more satisfying than the opening line “Fuck your flag and fuck your face” when you’ve just had a run in with your dumbass neighbours, complaining that foreigners don’t care about “old glory” in front of you, then trying to imply that you’re somehow less foreign than other immigrants, as happened to me yesterday? It’s almost as if growing up in England makes me </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">more </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">inclined to stick by my South Asian fellow complex dwellers. The track (originally released on a 2006 split with Citizen Fish) features Jello Biafra bringing another welcome element to the already varied mix in a shouted word rant, and when it yell-culminates in “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">QUIT YOUR JOBS! BURN DOWN THE MALLS!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” you goddamn want to! I will indulge those impulses for these few minutes if only strategically or metaphorically in my wider life (considering that the other thing I intended to do today was apply for some sort of rent-paying toil... that didn’t happen). And as for the song </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Banned in P.C</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wish!</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> They just asked me in for another one-off shift, the merciless bastards.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leftöver Leftöver Crack </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">has been carefully and meticulously curated with the goal of coming across like an unattractive document of scum living, burned inattentively to stolen CDs by an anonymous compiler in between smack injections and nutting coppers. You don’t believe it of course, but whatever. This appeal has always been in the actual music anyway, Stzas vocals generally seeming to suffer from some combination of proudly rough recording equipment and gargling too much cider and lean. You could choose to interpret this all as “slum tourism” or “lifestyle anarchism” I suppose, or an attempt to artistically capture certain elements of life under this soul-sucking regimen; without intimate knowledge of the band members’ lives it’s mere guesswork.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spanning their career as it does, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E-Sides and F-Sides</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> manages to round up a lot of the unusual stuff Leftöver Crack have often inserted into their works. The number of vocal samples and skits present from the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rock the 40oz</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> EP indicate Stza and co’s respect for hip hop mixtape creativity; I thought E-side might mean East Side until I realised it’s just a reference to the fact that this is a double LP. (Interestingly, the long running website </span><a href="https://www.punknews.org/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">punknews.org</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> did a similar mixtape idea last year called </span><a href="https://www.discogs.com/the-punknews-org-banned-from-the-p-c-mixtape/release/9998098" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Banned From The P.C.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that features a BBC live version of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gay Rude Boys Unite</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.) There’s the wild west criminality meets Bad Brains of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Good, The Bad and the LöC</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, while </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">World War 4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, originally from an old Fat Wreck Christmas album, has some unexpected pop punk melody and background vocals. There’s a really quite fun cover of Men At Work’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Land Down Under</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that I think even haters might enjoy, even if it is largely because it features somebody else's lyrics.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re a serious fan of leftovers, ready to lazily consume them when you get home from another day working for The Man, you’ll find this either a cool single package to have or pretty much a waste of time, since the majority of the material comes straight from the bands’ various splits and EPs. If you’re more a casual listener like me thirty tracks isn’t bad value for cuts that you may have overlooked. I would suggest checking the bandcamp tracklist to see where it puts you on this spectrum. Right, now that that’s sorted, what to do now? Back to Apple Pie and the Police State I guess.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://leftover-crack.bandcamp.com/album/left-ver-left-ver-crack-the-e-sides-and-f-sides" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://leftover-crack.bandcamp.com/album/left-ver-left-ver-crack-the-e-sides-and-f-sides</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leftöver Leftöver Crack: The E-Sides and F-Sides</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> can be heard at the bandcamp link above, and can be purchased (if you’re that unpunk) from Fat Wreck </span><a href="http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/104" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at this link</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s available as a digital download, on CD or a double LP.</span></span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-86086608170478033272018-12-31T11:15:00.000-08:002018-12-31T11:19:27.419-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-ced8891e-7fff-1f3c-7a9a-2dac8b854039" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mosquito Teeth/Pig Pen/Car Bomb Driver/Dea & Saint/Mickey Spixx/Acoupstix</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, December 29th 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fubar, St. Petersburg FL</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br />The Radical Beat musical heaven where punk and hip hop fuse at the, er, hip, was never presented so starkly. </span><a href="https://acoupstix.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acoupstix</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is once again funny and captivating, capturing the party in his grin as well as he captures the shitty issues of the day in </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/acoupstix/dont-just-boo-pacific-counter/2102699409752130/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this here column</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that he wrote. Trio </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/triggertown" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mickey Spixx</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> take a room already filled with so many bodies and fill it further with love, love, love. I finally get to see </span><a href="https://deaandsaint.bandcamp.com/album/t-r-a-p-d-o-o-m" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dea & Saint</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with their full band lineup, and I get it, in the sense that I don’t quite get it, and I’m looking forward to perhaps further getting it, which is kind of exciting in itself, because we don’t want to be either trapped or doomed by the forces swirling around us or the limits of musical convention. Car Bomb Dave of </span><a href="https://www.reverbnation.com/carbombdriver" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Car Bomb Driver</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is in full force energy mode, showing up Howlin' Pelle of The Hives with his skinny tie and slack-clad microphone moves as the band blast through a high-powered setlist building to a furious version of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ace of Spades</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Police visit briefly, worried we might throw The Damned on the jukebox and smash the place up; ready for any scenario comes </span><a href="https://originalpigpen.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pig Pen</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, suspiciously timed and snouted and masked and armed with thick bacon strip riffs. Mosquito Alert, aka </span><a href="https://mosquitoteethstpete.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mosquito Teeth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bring a colourful peak of steamroller noise and lager flying madness, a cover of the aspirational </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do What You Want</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and a new, free mini album by the title of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fubar</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This whole thing feels like a celebration born of grief, like a New Orleans jazz funeral. Aside from all the familiar musicians and scene supporters I see and chat with people that chronicle my own sordid history in St. Pete, which began just two months after the opening of Fubar: old friends from the MYRA Radio Network at St. Petersburg College, from Community Cafe, from Mother Kombucha. The packed venue is a living document, hours now from being shredded. The sense of loss that is about to come over this place, scattering us back to our atomised lives and homes, is suddenly palpable and upsetting, of the kind that for a second you allow yourself to believe cannot actually be happening.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you know what this is, developers, landlords and the </span><a href="https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/baybuzz/2017/11/14/autopsy-notes-from-rick-v-rick-money-haul-blows-past-3-million-mark/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">politicians who thrive on their donations</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? It’s called COMMUNITY.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their money will be louder than us until we GET LOUDER. This is why we need groups like </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/xrtampabay" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extinction Rebellion Tampa Bay</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that will challenge the inconsistent policies we see from local governments and planners. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c12a6873-7fff-8b3a-51ad-d2911a3701ae" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climate change threatens us all, but c</span></span>ommunity and survival are meaningless without one another, they are interdependent. Seeking to lower the energy burden on working people is undone by policies that encourage rising rents. Protecting neighbourhoods from rising sea levels (which current plans fail to do anyway) is less meaningful when there’s nothing left in them but resource intensive chain stores and a resource intensive demographic that can pick up and leave at almost any time. Climate and resource pollution will increase as long as cities are planned around the frivolous desires of those with </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/02/worlds-richest-10-produce-half-of-global-carbon-emissions-says-oxfam" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">excessive disposable incomes</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The objectives of our economy need to be seriously redirected, otherwise all of this will be gone one way or the other.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mark January 26th in your diaries, and </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/11/tampa-bay-rebellion-why-we-need-non-violent-direct-action-big-bend-tampa-international-airport-right-now.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">get ready to rebel</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span><img alt="Image may contain: text" aria-busy="true" class="spotlight" height="320" src="https://scontent.ftpa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/48089331_10155609770981415_825545142956982272_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_eui2=AeG8UEl6PSPs6iy0QTMy_dB-L7x4MiboJBo3t9SXA5G73gkbjPxDeZ7aohK3M29mqrQiwBOXSPCGLbo79NUZQxzRikoQjX7X0Ewg5nJrIui8uA&_nc_ht=scontent.ftpa1-1.fna&oh=273d5e8e0e9872fb53d7a8b5213467c2&oe=5CD5D078" style="height: 666px; width: 431px;" width="207" /><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-84318244774022179692018-12-26T16:52:00.000-08:002018-12-26T20:34:13.523-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-98ed8957-7fff-9c98-299f-74dbd513765d" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radical Beat's Top Ten Albums of 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/category/real-talk-and-opinion/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been a full official calendar year of Radical Beat writing, slogging around trying to make sense of this wild terrain, and here’s my top ten albums to put a bow on it for 2018. What a stressful but largely satisfying time it has been. Special thanks to Apathy & Exhaustion: there’s no way I would have heard some of these without Tony hurtling them down my inbox, and I wouldn’t have been on the lookout for many of the other ones without doing Radical Beat and contributing to A&E. Thanks mate.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reviews are linked in the titles. It would be great if you gave a few a read, as we spend a lot of time on these reviews, and in my case at least, the album pieces are woefully under read when compared to protest coverage, articles or live reviews. Thanks! </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Rosenstock - </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/jeff-rosenstock-post-quote-unquote-polyvinyl-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POST-</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="145" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_GOZUm0MQcMFGqbh5soN_cXhvqdDxNUIhbEzxO24x0h6Fv3-JcZ21s0ElkFB_FMn6Q7sRJQQnxbkbdnedYxU7haZs-ghk1Zl-gde9Qidjj6QSd2XXaTXvAejvLc8DFdrgmbP13Q" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="145" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A January 1st release that managed to fend off enough competition for the full twelve months is impressive, but there was never much doubt that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POST-</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was going to make it. This thirtysomething punk record marries personal and political anxiety perfectly, and the lovely Jeff Rosenstock even gave it away for free.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://jeffrosenstock.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://jeffrosenstock.bandcamp.com/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evidence - </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/02/evidence-weather-or-not-rhymesayers.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weather or Not</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="139" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t_gO1IxX8a6A1qfzXk_fNOWb791sJsLxWK6-PwE197jMVXYKbSvK0q4zX-chQVnNrpd47Gpb48khXaLaa-dvA8priLr_NwUsYrq6Os6erTMl5OO5oSttdeUTXZEIlbkxT69u78o" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="139" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mr Slow Flow of Dilated Peoples fame released his third and supposedly final weather themed record here, with a rain-focus that is working nicely again as we head back into winter. While it’s not mind-blowing lyrically, aesthetically it combines East coast boom bap and West coast smoothness into a really enjoyable experience.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://misterevidence.bandcamp.com/album/weather-or-not" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://misterevidence.bandcamp.com/album/weather-or-not</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reggie & The Full Effect - </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/reggie-and-the-full-effect-41-pure-noise-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">41</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="147" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gV97BjW_XpsTjllJTpWus0l82JFvxA4pZkOe7KaWMnlxw4cIBgdPL_6WaXoR8-wofjtlXI_nW9k8trFyST-SdMT7KSalfgn-vvkRPp9wbzQfA46QzumO-F-VsXtdPULf3AKNe1A" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="147" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">41</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a piece of sophisticated, middle-aged emo, with a lot of sad moments but also beauty, humour and gonzo, topped with James Dewees’ powerful pop pipes. The award for “Best Song Title of the Year” goes to the fun electro-swamp of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Channing Tatum Space Rollerblading Montage Music</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (feat Fluxuation).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://purenoise.bandcamp.com/album/41" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://purenoise.bandcamp.com/album/41</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pennywise - </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/pennywise-never-gonna-die-epitaph-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never Gonna Die</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="146" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GP1nVNR_1P6cWF_s8lb72qabK4sFHwSrXdefEH-y6kthG16rC_i_RL0QRyCkROAJQYCddlgMOzZHrke_MZeRsq47MZnFaS6qy-eD4Nsce148j_QTr_F4gZ4U173mQ-R52QkPZEA" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="146" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Tony already did a review, but I’ll do one myself for fun as soon as I get chance,” I told myself in April when </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never Gonna Die</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> came out. Famous last words of the always-working-on-new-last-words-wordsmith. But his review gets to the gist of the matter: this is an old-fashioned Pennywise album that is one of their best in two decades, delivering hope to nearly any artist who is considered long past their peak.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZMZxR9uxC-yIs2tYMLHLfYAWsoH2rWk" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZMZxR9uxC-yIs2tYMLHLfYAWsoH2rWk</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Superchunk - </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/04/superchunk-what-time-to-be-alive-merge.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What A Time To Be Alive</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="144" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ZgKkXcRZybYP31if1HPV6d2qLGcs8v430JXLumGE3RZHn_yt05R2yYjWksIrofgtUVsPbD1aaE7WIMX9NcjoD3d7CQnmzvp-bnu0ccfDpKEpfZmFkbyYic8jGqoedWMVpQ_qQwg" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="144" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite all determinations that the Trump circus would not be “normalised,” after two years within this belly I can tell you that it seems to have happened. And while a lot of anti-Trump posturing has become tiring or worse, the alt-pop </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What A Time To Be Alive</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> manages to tackle the state of our days in a way that is anthemic, uplifting, cathartic and downright danceable. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://superchunk.bandcamp.com/album/what-a-time-to-be-alive" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://superchunk.bandcamp.com/album/what-a-time-to-be-alive</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epic Beard Men - </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/05/epic-beard-men-skip-divinci-jon-ditty-dunedin-brewery.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Season 1</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (live review)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="141" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ndW3_2QydBMN_benB9KC_hNepKcKYCyhM5ElV-LUbvtBBlmY_pJN3-Jc2LERbadZfEsf4tQK_p-M1xvtpMq8Y5FkhBehnvoS_H2WpEQWuV-yZ444Zx5KRHuSOA8uwpwyQ7b0XPo" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="141" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The debut album from former Epitaph rapper Sage Francis and B. Dolan manages to have a classic hip hop style without sounding like a nostalgia project, all full of flair, original choice of topics and a big bold sound. If you spend every holiday season on the hunt for unconventional tunes, listen to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War on Christmas</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://epicbeardmen.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://epicbeardmen.bandcamp.com/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Popes of Chillitown - </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/popes-of-chillitown-work-hard-play-hard-see-you-in-the-graveyard-self-released-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Work Hard, Play Hard, See You In The Graveyard</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="138" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/jRP-FzFpi28PzHDaUH0hIuGqIkl2NI8QyHmoiYXKB-zQ4Zce5ClZg0iPuNA7spcP-iqf5BxMcFVvwJdeAKjzhOVvIGZVAZvlLVey2Rs05bHgzKR1Gj5_V325cUfUBO56EQ4zOuE" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="138" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This one took me back to blurry-eyed fun times at Satan’s Hollow. Intelligent words and beat-heavy ska punk club music from London’s Popes of Chillitown. You can enjoy each element depicted in the album’s title in isolation, or as part of a satisfying, hearty whole.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://popesofchillitown.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://popesofchillitown.bandcamp.com/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Revenge of the Psychotronic Man - </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/08/revenge-of-the-psychotronic-man-that-was-just-a-noise-tns-records.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That Was Just a Noise</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="140" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HCiI7Dg6q25iKrmJxpDEYokIP83TXtSqPXdegxiDGcf8EGummjMvzZeRlED5ZpTKhpD8ya3WGzKPX_GOoPfzJfEuA3IYF1WuZsUe9p33E4ckXBh24itXkrsL24fZjtJtFxcDMK0" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="140" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An unreasonably fast punk compilation from Manchester’s now defunct mainstays Revenge of the Psychotronic Man (they played their last gig in early December). A fitting documentation of over a decade of drinking music with nods of social consciousness, fun remixes and love for our animal friends. See Andy’s top ten for 2018 </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/guest-top-ten-of-2018-andy-of-tns-records/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/that-was-just-a-noise" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://tnsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/that-was-just-a-noise</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Four Fists - </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/four-fists-6666-doomtree-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="138" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ZNd2W1Nv3SYnTiWZyqJzlYE5VJV1wMZieT3i-JuOKP0Ad-6HT4bNxA017LRSEhFXtY2HiE0t-OewXriKitCvDieNtgNl5Zn1e55qLOw5wVJ-fJS1s4lks7n8WF0RCDdV7yEFlNA" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="138" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another long-awaited rap collaboration that pays off, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from Astronautalis and P.O.S. is as beautiful as it is dark. The influence of punk on the album is undeniable even without any fast guitars, from the no bars held pissed off lyrics of fire and revolution, colourful but purposefully unglossy production, and Joe Strummer as the project’s spiritual advisor. A class piece of work, in every sense.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://fourfists.bandcamp.com/album/6666" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://fourfists.bandcamp.com/album/6666</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Antidon’ts - </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-antidonts-we-reap-what-you-sow-swamp-cabbage-2018.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="143" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pM-1QFNhggLU7dGySZC818_GBYG-s45yukyq6b_N9OmtADp9WA_JTRBuxWAPUDuCSfBPnw8WLiXEbIqsvzYH_bGiy-HefjtwA1x0x6OUucmbK_Jo586VeDL_ODox9SOqLsBPENs" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="143" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This local Florida entry tops the year off with surf-vibed, crusted-skate vigour, dissatisfaction dissipated through punk rock chops. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> also, almost single-handedly, does a good job of both pulling down the average age of the artists in my list (a bit at least) and holding my reputation as a local music journo-supporter intact. Keeping the dream alive.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><a href="https://theantidonts.bandcamp.com/album/we-reap-what-you-sow" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://theantidonts.bandcamp.com/album/we-reap-what-you-sow</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-34663067339041800332018-12-24T17:13:00.000-08:002018-12-24T17:13:32.846-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-d5364228-7fff-e921-b46a-330adfabfc4f" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Antidon’ts</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swamp Cabbage/Self-released, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/author/james/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/svHD8YZw59uz1KJhUEgHTScoMB5c09gyr9QA5d3DrLGxxU1NstY3cYY4RKzznIFR2ClG8rIa_CJN_nuk9Rp7QgCKN8pITkCfKqNqRH7gf7MHg35tncBUNEvy6uAKgJDknZGlK14" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Depression is built into this machine and the evidence is plastered on the morose faces of people caught in the clutches of its business as usual activities. Depression is found in the insurmountable debts we owe for spending a lifetime of preparation and labor to serve the machine. In addition to debt, the machine awards us for our servitude with trinkets, gadgets, doodads and gizmos that provide a moment of hollow amusement and then sit on shelves in garages and decay. They represent the planned obsolescence of the human heart. The sacrifice paid for our fetish with materialism is the actual quality of our lives.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-- </span><a href="https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/11/capitalism-empire-and-the-infernal-gloom-machine/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Capitalism, Empire and the Gloom Machine</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Jason Holland</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don't normally go in for stuff like this, all complaint with no bonafide facting. But </span><a href="https://www.reasonbowl.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this guy Holland’s a poet</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. And I </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2017/12/at-drive-in-inter-alia-rise-2017.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">don't normally like poetry</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> either. The part about Cardi B being a hack I take some issue with. She’s funny! Or maybe it’s just that I’m sitting here shovelling needlessly strong craft beer and stolen Pringles into my face at a moderate pace, playing a pointlessly violent video game, as a “reward” to myself for temporarily escaping the foul puppet strings of grinding employment. I deserve this! Don’t tell me this isn’t the good life, you value judgement tosser! That I should I expect more than this! Now we can complain about the lack of evolution in rock music these days all we like, but evolution isn’t the be all and end all (that role falls to fossil fuels, and Russiabaiting, “Syria-is-ours-to-gift,” useful dickhead Democrats who think the difference between two different kinds of </span><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal_us_5c1c40c0e4b0407e9078ed20" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">utterly corrupt</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and contemptible suits is worth </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/leaked-transcript-proves-russiagaters-have-been-right-all-along-b9128ad19283" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">killing everyone on Earth for</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). As any good anti-capitalist could tell you, the goal is not always to grow but oftentimes simply to provide sustenance. Punk music, or at least punk mindsets, will be necessary until articles like this are one are untrue. But what form should that punk take?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been quite a year of significant markers as far as my relationship with The Antidon’ts is concerned. During the first week of January they were the musicians that </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/02/rehasher-weak-knees-antidonts.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">popped my Lucky You Tattoo performance cherry</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (appropriate considering cherries might be some of the most over-represented images in the punk ink game), in support of Roger Lima’s ska-escaping project Rehasher. Then in late May, when the relentless firepower of the mid-Florida sun was just on the cusp of revealing itself, The Antidon’ts played </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/05/comrades-thrash-can-the-antidonts-scumbag-billionaires.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a backyard show in Clearwater</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that was one of the most fun times I had this year. This shindig was loaded with copper infiltrations, declarations of lifelong punked-up romance, youth gone wild/wasted, and it led to a write-up that remains the second highest viewed gig review on my website (as an aside, I swear there is no algorithm whatsoever for me to figure how far a piece is going to spread, or why it did after the fact). Then came the full length </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in late October, somehow not brought to my attention at that time by the gremlin-bots of social media giants, and screeching onto your screens here in the final weeks of the calendar. I still don’t really understand where in Florida they’re from though.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the above quoted column in musical form, from the clear, unshameful status of victimhood found in the title to the lyrical content and frustrated rage lurking within its digital files (there’s also a </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theantidonts/photos/a.1449764605310291/2337928289827247/?type=3&theater" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cool looking tape release</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and a possible vinyl version in the future). It features commentary on many of my personal favourite topics, which should include at least some of yours, no doubt: restless wishes to act out rebellious impulses, addiction, angst, punching Uncle Sam in his stupid face until he bleeds all the money he’s fucking stolen (or as George Carlin puts it at the start of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Idiocalypse Now</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, “the big red white and blue dick that’s being jammed up [American] assholes everyday”). There’s lots of TV and tech and shit employment hate. It’s some of the usual stuff, but it’s well crafted. I’ll take that over a lot of the fluff pumped out under the banner of skate punk these days; a description from the band that doesn’t really do justice to the sound here.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As giant corporations have seized most of our food supply to plant </span><a href="https://www.theflamingvegan.com/view-post/Why-Are-Monocultures-Bad" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">boring, identical monocultures</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that lay waste to the land, The Antidon’ts are sowing a wide variety of genre crops to provide resilience for the coming years. The music of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing’s New To Me</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> combines with the vocal style of bassist Mikey to create a surfy melodic Hellcat crust. With the state of the oceans these days, I suppose being a crusty surfer is not all that hard to fathom. (On a side note, the recent </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leftöver Leftöver Crack: The E-Sides and F-sides</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> album is next in my sewage pipeline.) There’s more of this ilk on the ska-seasoned </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comfortably Dumb</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, with guest voices Jesse and Veronica Sendejas adding to the sense of building group discontent. This track namechecks Bill Hicks; if you’re into both Hicks and Carlin maybe check out the </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/lee-camps-new-stand-up-special-is-what-comedy-is-supposed-to-be-1af491a89269" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">comedian Lee Camp</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, not to mention the funny firebrand journalist </span><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/surf-f80c7b64bf26" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caitlyn Johnstone</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> who I apparently can’t stop linking to. But </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is by no means a whole album of unwashed atheist anthems. Diverging with Mikey’s screeches is guitarist Zac’s calmly defiant delivery on the likes of the groovy </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Existential Dread</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the fast-paced skate of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turning My Ear</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the quality old-fashioned hardcore of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep That Shit Out of Our Scene</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As if having two singers with differing voices and an interesting blend of different styles sitting side by side wasn’t enough, The Antidon’ts provide further earlobe variety with a lot of great instrumental stretches. From the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Introvert</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> intro to the psychedelic beach romp closer of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life’s A Trip, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">these three are pissed off but not afraid to take the time to think about what they’re saying, and show off their clear musical chops. These frills are good frills. Tracks like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Absent Mediator </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barfly Hipster</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (the ending of which seems to purposefully evoke the Henry Rollins version of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Six Pack</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) are full length punk songs with lyrics, but they’re placed few and far between. While there isn’t much in the way of humour in the lyrics, some of this noodling does indicate the desire for fun for the sake of it,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">à la the melding of winks and thoughtful rants provided by the likes of Propagandhi and MDC. I am contractually obligated to mention, at this point, the split The Antidon’ts did with MDC last year, available <a href="https://theantidonts.bandcamp.com/album/mdc-the-antidonts-split">here</a> and to buy on <a href="http://swampcabbagerecords.storenvy.com/collections/66429-swamp-cabbage-releases/products/19427923-mdc-antidonts-split-7" target="_blank">black and white vinyl here</a>. Because if Dave Dictor sees their potential, who the bloody hell are you to not give them a chance? They re-recorded the track <i>Make America Think Again </i>for this long player.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As much as it’s easier to remember only the hardcore blasts of unbridled male emotion, a lot of bands like the Descendents, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and obviously Black Flag did have these interludes in their stuff especially as the original scene aged. As far as being a cultural force, punk today has certainly stagnated more than hardcore had by the mid-80s. But The Antidon’ts seem to have taken a lot of these ideas and built upon them. Is it like a Turnstile album, all full of eerie soul and jazz segments, ready to blow up into something resembling mainstream success? Not exactly, but it’s certainly refreshing, which brings me back to the description the band have floating around online. “Florida’s heaviest skate punk trio,” ey? I can see what they were trying to convey with that, but it still seems like a description from their past, that they’re sticking with either because they’re so in the artistic tunnel vision that they don’t realise they’ve outgrown it, or they just don’t know how to better succinctly describe the amalgamation they've now got going on here. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, that might just be YOUR job, motherfucker!”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Touché. Umm… crustaceancore. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It would seem (would you Christmas-eve Adam and Eve it), that jolting out inebriated stream of consciousness bullshit does not always result in Hunter S. Thompson style insightful genius. My introduction seemed a primer for expecting the same old guff, before listing all the ways that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Reap What You Sow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is an interesting box o’ listening. I find it hard to imagine a punk band is ever going to light the world on fire again, but this album at least tries to be original in its approach. Importantly, it sounds good doing it too. And for these reasons it lands slap bang in the final chronological spot of my </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/12/radical-beats-top-ten-albums-2018.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">top ten records for the year</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If these songs are the seeds The Antidon’ts are planting, future harvests from the gloom machine may be less depressing than we imagine.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />We Reap What You Sow, as already stated, is available to buy (pay what you like) at <span style="color: black;"><a href="https://theantidonts.bandcamp.com/album/we-reap-what-you-sow" target="_blank">The Antidon’ts bandcamp</a>, and on red cassette (run of just 50) from <a href="http://swampcabbagerecords.storenvy.com/collections/66429-swamp-cabbage-releases/products/25276530-the-antidonts-we-reap-what-you-sew-cassette" target="_blank">Swamp Cabbage Records</a>. Vinyl may come at some point. The band will be playing a gig at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1273252022814338/" target="_blank">St. Pete’s Cage Brewing on January 19th</a> for Leadfoot Promotions, alongside Rutterkin and Amuse. I intend to be at that gig, and so should you.</span></span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-59670317339869335232018-11-29T12:22:00.000-08:002018-11-29T12:22:13.420-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-58de2af9-7fff-5569-bbe5-ed85ba7aa6f9" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BiteMarks/Meatwound/Permanent Makeup</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, November 17th 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bends, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/author/james/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apathy & Exhaustion</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Images by </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MattVallerPhoto" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matt Valler Photography</span></a></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="494" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/9M_pQtWhks5H7a6k0Al9GOA1jGf0TvAU7OzFafzvLX-vAtEcn9gux_gqCtGZyGkfbzvSwcN9wJws683q98lCjcDagX9yAicMKqn6UjIlPDTZlXgWwLShQyxYqDYf8feinj-r9kU" style="border: medium none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="640" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Paul of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Leadfoot-Promotions-151571975497060/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leadfoot Promotions</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> announced his first gig earlier this year at Fubar (soon-to-be-RIP, what the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fuck</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?), starring BiteMarks, Meatwound, Horsewhip and Low Season, I got the feeling there wouldn’t be any ironic renditions of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hjo4OlDV8" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nailing Descartes to the Wall</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who found Paul’s penchant for putting on flesh-centric acts funny (even Low Season has a song about fishing and cursing the red tide), because in a delicious continuation of the joke we are tonight treated to the seitanic stylings of travelling gluten-salesman </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/unclemincesworldfamousseitan/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Uncle Mince, and his World Famous Seitan</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In my </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/torche-horsewhip-leviathan-cross-fubar-st-pete-florida.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bonus cup review</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of Horsewhip at Fubar (what the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ACTUAL FUCK?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) a few weeks ago, I made the throwaway comment that I was such a hungry vegan I could eat a seitan-assembled horse. I say we all chip in to help Mince make that happen and we wheel that sucker down to the local Food Not Bombs chapter in Williams Park.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="416" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/q_-Pr1cfS1cYmdK9pR4NI8_RgVGh4dz-IQiwGpNhwCluVxPdLS63jR-o8QkNeujngsxrPV-z1RdywEDjuF9P5fiFLEWE0z_i8a7qeil9aHmgG4oBayMsDYfwhToRq8WkiIXxunE" style="border: medium none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Permanent Makeup</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I'm into the version of punk that destroys barriers to entry and screams poetry of inclusion, pushes sonic envelopes and makes space to crush mainstream values based on competition and hatred,” so declared </span><a href="https://permanentmakeup.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Permanent Makeup</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bass-voice Chris recently on the Fedbook, basically endorsing giving away plant protein to homeless folks. Well shit, dude. Way to make my task of trying to describe your ever interesting aesthetic and sound easier and/or more redundant. It’s from the Shred Shed to the Shred Submarine Base for the post-whathaveyou band, where last night Chris and drummer Susan hosted Kentucky femme grungers </span><a href="https://noncompliant.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">noncompliant</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the pisspunk locals of </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/08/piss-ghost-madison-turner-yankee-roses-lucky-you-tattoo.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piss Ghost</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Permanent Makeup are an act that show you can push exciting sonic envelopes without relying purely on Sonic the Hedgehog speed, and that it’s okay to be funny in your art, so long as you aren’t lazy (just listen to some of guitarist James’s live vocal deliveries). Since quality art comes with acknowledgement of The Real Shit, the band here take a brief time out to mourn the fact that Florida is now once more in the hands of a shit governor. So to speak again of Sonic, and his wild hair, bollocks to a blue wave, how about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wave! With satisfying weird interludes scattered all over! What we need is a Permanent Shakeup. Chris is looking to start booking gigs for touring musicians soon under the name Trend Decay. Always such cool names for stuff.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="416" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/QPbobRrPp9Bm4kJD2Vc1jJcEhVW32H9WKR-ZreWzRpaQZuasEhUFXpqLXCMmVhT2VTymEl1uF1dLcIrspco6N89rATyyMGYWxMA7D2xpVIVt8XkCCGs7D2B7lbhbv4WlE_V8NLE" style="border: medium none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meatwound</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Industrial farming critics </span><a href="https://deadtankrecords.bandcamp.com/album/trash-apparatus" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meatwound</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from across the way in Tampa are fronted by “master race traitor” Dan, who was at one time a member of 90s grindcorers Combatwoundedveteran (as was Jeff Howe of Horsewhip actually). Tonight he is wearing a Def Jam t-shirt. If you lot were hoping to do a Beastie Boys style transition from extreme rock music to rap you might be overplaying the warm up period of your career, guys. This is pulverising, heavy shit, although I will happily say that if you’re of the timid disposition their live presence is more obviously tuneful and less scary than when played through tinny laptop speakers (even with The Bends still having their </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Halloween decorations</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> floating around this late in the month). </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="444" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/c_MlC5Nc2sXjkqEoZGm1McZ2J3A2xPLs-v_OClqWAeUst-BTQqs-PeNU-C9_IipXmRYb1jB4WwgBIabKFf41N58Kn8BSLXwdXUxayCj7tIlIrQgenRi3ZXWTY0iDPs8NR-Slp0E" style="border: medium none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meatwound</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When compared to his speaking voice, Dan’s unnatural growl helps make Meatwound feel like a plodding giant that generally minds its own business, but if you should be so foolish as to fuck with it, you will be beaten senseless. Their recent releases are spread over a meaty slew of labels, such as Dead Tank Records from Jacksonville (who also released/distributed the latest stuff by Horsewhip and Permanent Makeup, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">actually</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), and Magic Bullet Records, whose </span><a href="http://www.magicbulletrecords.com/site/bands/active/meatwound/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">incredible gonzo bio</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for the band really captures what it’s like trying to survive in this orange-splattered, </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/11/tampa-bay-rebellion-why-we-need-non-violent-direct-action-big-bend-tampa-international-airport-right-now.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">polluted shitmachine</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of a region. This horrific impression of so-called civilisation is presumably what led Meatwound to give last year’s full length the title of </span><a href="https://darkoperative.bandcamp.com/album/meatwound-largo" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Largo</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="416" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/K_AF0P3GjO_RJJxiUvRCuKMvdpT_qVRAAE3tJBpymkiLkrtinCALydPdFEy-T9QH1GmYQB1L19TyI09cwlvzOHKgtgypPIgjw05N3FibtFgdaZ3tdYZQj2HMBPiRlJgWGhto2wo" style="border: medium none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BiteMarks (Pictured: Submarine Getting Shredded)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The writhing, violent body of dissatisfaction lurking beneath the thin veneer of civilisation is one of the things that continues to make classic hardcore punk performances so appealing, decades after the genre’s heyday. Enter </span><a href="https://bitemarksgnv.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BiteMarks</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from Gainesville. With just enough experimental flourishes to make things interesting they feature Matt from Assholeparade (spaces between words were not cool in your mid-90s band name, okay?) on bass, and impressively rapid drumming from yet another talented James. Who needs a Minor Threat reunion? (I’ll tell you who needs it: </span><a href="http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/minor-threat-reunion-is-a-non-story-says-bassist-brian-baker/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fucking nobody</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.) Then there’s frontwoman Dita, hugging the walls here when she’s not leaving BiteMarks in them, and reminding somewhat of St. Pete’s own Lauren Elizabeth, flying around all over the place and into the crowd as if to ask them what they think they are doing just standing there (</span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/04/lucky-you-fest-april-2018-the-zeta-the-brass-permanent-makeup-reality-asylum-frameworks.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">see here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for a previous exposure to Elizabeth, along with Uncle Mince and Permanent Makeup).</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="416" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WzZM9RdRq1eBPAmxIyQ39VCjdngk19BfCd-HOVRIm0A9dWcj1QIOml3SHIvd5zUqesveKehyhvyObFyMWZa0Ld_MHP557OgvRkHIwZy-8CpR95f-jYItHL1DVs84clc-izhsEyc" style="border: medium none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BiteMarks</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s also something in her confident, room dominating energy of a Shirley Manson, if she had grown up in Floridurgh instead of Edinburgh. I recently learned that Manson once </span><a href="https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/59zngq/some-moronic-questions-for-shirley-manson-on-garbages-new-book" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">took a piss in the middle of a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spin</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> photoshoot</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (to return to the topic of femme grunge piss punks), but the magazine, worried for their squeamish and presumably penis-owning advertisers, edited it out. Dita allegedly had a similar moment here amidst the flashes of Matt Valler magic, which a more cynical punter than me might think was a reason for the bands’ blindingly short fifteen minute set rather than their dedication to hardcore brevity. I am extremely satisfied but not at the same time. I want MORE, like the insatiable vegan that I am. Where’s that fake mac and cheese peddler?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twelve more minutes of glory can be found on BiteMarks’ recent album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sucia</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, available on single sided pink vinyl with a silk screened b-side. Get it from </span><a href="http://www.belladonna-records.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Belladona Records</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It features some hilarious fake music history nerdery in the liner notes, written by friend Mike Taylor.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A huge thank you to </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/MattVallerPhoto/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matt Valler Photography</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for going in on this collaborative review with me! You can see the rest of the photos for this gig </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/MattVallerPhoto/photos/?tab=albums" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in these albums</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. These are cool as hell, right?</span></span></span></div>
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RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-23064963793728831062018-11-23T12:10:00.000-08:002018-11-23T12:10:10.548-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-840311b5-7fff-94ec-1bda-9012e51da97a" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tampa Bay Rebellion</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why we need a non-violent direct action movement against climate change, right here, right now</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-0/p480x480/46516751_251278342234061_8214883311680487424_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_ht=scontent.ftpa1-2.fna&oh=e0ed23af1aeea9b803c8c7a358681b3c&oe=5CABDFCE" height="234" src="https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-0/p480x480/46516751_251278342234061_8214883311680487424_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_ht=scontent.ftpa1-2.fna&oh=e0ed23af1aeea9b803c8c7a358681b3c&oe=5CABDFCE" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by Leslie Minnis</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the constant hurricanes and wildfires didn’t get your attention, the scientific bombshell should have. In October the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report, </span><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/18/the-hope-at-the-heart-of-the-apocalyptic-climate-change-report/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Global Warming of 1.5 °C</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The panel is a UN body of thousands of scientists that analyses all the latest scientific papers to draw conclusions. They found that in order to have a decent chance of avoiding the runaway climate change found above 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, we must aim to cut carbon dioxide emissions </span><a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/session48/pr_181008_P48_spm_en.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by 45% by 2030</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (based on 2010 levels), and then reach zero emissions by the middle of this century.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These numbers, and the scale of challenge they represent, horrified many people. But I haven’t seen much reporting on what it means for specific countries. The United States emits higher levels of greenhouse gases per person than most nations, so the cuts must necessarily be even deeper. I invite more statistical minds to improve on them, but according to my rough calculations based on </span><a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">population size</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/ld_cafe_my2021-26_deis_0.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">global emissions share</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (neither of which has changed drastically since 2010), in order to do its fair part the United States must cut emissions by around 85% in the next twelve years.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The IPCC’s recommendations are buttressed by calls for a global </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20% cut in material consumption</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> levels, </span><a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2018/10/08/1-5-un-ipcc-special-report-explained/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dropping coal use by around two thirds</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, oil in half, and natural gas by a third, all by 2030. Again, all of these targets will need to be higher in wealthy, high consumption countries. Look at the figures and ask yourself if the IPCC, scientists with an inclination to say nothing they can’t prove, are appealing for anything other than the bare minimum of what they think might be necessary. We need to aim higher than these goals to have a chance of at least meeting them.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is on the basis of all this that on October 31st, over one thousand people in the United Kingdom </span><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/extinction-rebellion-uk-2617088143.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">launched a giant campaign of non-violent direct action</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Parliament Square. Under the name </span><a href="https://rebellion.earth/demands/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extinction Rebellion</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, they are demanding that the government declare a state of emergency over climate breakdown, enact legally binding “wartime mobilisation” policies to get the country to net zero emissions by 2025, and for the building of citizen’s assemblies to oversee the transition. Roadblocks and actions have </span><a href="https://rebellion.earth/press/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">continued throughout November</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with the involvement of thousands more. The May government is accused, among other infractions, of overriding democracy by </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/06/uk-fracking-given-go-ahead-as-lancashire-council-rejection-is-overturned" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ramming through</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> unpopular fracking and airport expansion measures.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An </span><a href="https://xrebellion.org/s/A-Declaration-of-International-Non-Violent-Rebellion-Against-the-Worlds-Governments-for-Criminal-Ina.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">International Declaration of Rebellion</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> invites people of other nations to join them leading up to a coordinated action day on April 19th. The same week as the Parliament Square event, </span><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-thousands-protest-to-save-hambach-forest/a-46060826" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thousands of people in western Germany protested and blocked a coal train</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to try and stop the further expansion of a lignite mine into a 12,000-year-old forest. On December 2nd there will be a </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/518187145350647/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">launch event</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ExtinctionRebellionUS/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extinction Rebellion US</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Washington D.C. Groups are preparing under the banner in Canada, Sweden, New Zealand and many other countries and cities. The call for international rebellion is building on fertile ground.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are numerous reasons why you may not have heard about these protests, the most obvious being the drama of the midterm elections. We should care about who is put in office. The Trump administration’s assault on the environment is representative of an increasingly desperate fossil fuel industry. But when it comes to climate change, we haven’t the luxury of obsessing over it, as the click-dependent media that helped to put him in power would have us do. If our movements are strong, worthy politicians will seek to follow them. Largely independent of Trump, plans are in the dirty pipeline to expand two major sources of greenhouse gases in Tampa Bay, and they have so far been met with almost no opposition. Nothing makes the people destroying our environment happier than silence.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach is the only coal burning plant </span><a href="https://earthjustice.org/features/map-meet-the-power-plants" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">located around Tampa Bay</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and is one of the largest in the state. Operator Tampa Electric (TECO) sent out a </span><a href="https://www.tampaelectric.com/files/projects/bigbendmodernization/bb-letter.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">customer letter</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in May of this year detailing their hopes for modernisation. The plan is to retire one antiquated coal-and-gas-fired unit and convert another to a modern natural gas unit (two primarily coal-fired units would remain in use). It sounds like progress. This conversion however is gambling on the long-term continuation of the American fracking boom and all of its </span><a href="https://www.postcarbon.org/publications/shale-reality-check/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">associated problems</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (fracked wells now provide </span><a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=26112" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">two thirds of U.S. natural gas production</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). The Trump government has spent </span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/trumps-attacks-on-the-environment-are-mostly-failing/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the last two years</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trying to remove rules that oblige oil and gas companies to at least try to plug methane leaks, rather than letting it vent into the atmosphere, and those attempts can be expected to continue. Because methane is some 86 times more potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide, fracked gas is arguably </span><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/methane-leaks-erase-climate-benefit-of-fracked-gas-countless-studies-find-8b060b2b395d/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">just as bad for the climate</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as coal, </span><a href="https://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/publications/f_EECT-61539-perspectives-on-air-emissions-of-methane-and-climatic-warmin_100815_27470.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">if not worse</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This proposal is not progress at all.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we believe fracking is unsuitable for Florida, it’s hard to see why we should financially support it happening in other places. Tampa Electric </span><a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/Tampa-Electric-planning-to-convert-Big-Bend-power-plant-where-five-died-in-June-from-coal-to-natural-gas_164449729" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">says the project</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, if implemented, will cost $1 billion, take ten years to finish, and should be expected to last thirty-five or forty. These numbers should set alarm bells off in the heads of all climate activists considering the small window of time we have left. Are we going to let them expend all this money and effort to make a one-time conversion that will make no discernable difference to electricity emissions?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The company has made much of its investments in solar, including one project at Big Bend itself, which they brag is </span><a href="https://www.tampaelectric.com/company/mediacenter/article/index.cfm?article=897" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the biggest in Tampa Bay</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The array produces 23 megawatts (MW) of electricity, or approximately 1.35% of the amount currently produced at the fossil power station. Other projects are expected to bring their total solar to </span><a href="https://www.tampaelectric.com/company/ourpowersystem/projects/solar/southhillsborough/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">600 MW</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or 7% of their total generation, by 2023. But sunny Florida ranks a </span><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/the-us-states-leading-the-way-in-solar.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sad 8th</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in total solar generation nationwide, with California producing over ten times our capacity and powering 17% of their grid. TECO has the means to expand these solar plans rapidly rather than give a money stream to the fracking industry, and that’s where the majority of the $1 billion budget should be going (aside from the decommissioning costs of the coal units).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This investment is even worse when you consider that natural gas, whether fracked or not, is </span><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/how-congress-and-the-supreme-court-blew-up-the-natural-gas-bridge-to-renewables-5f5da2428aa2/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">now in direct competition with renewables</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to replace coal, and TECO’s current funding of solar amounts to a mere </span><a href="https://www.tampaelectric.com/company/mediacenter/article/index.cfm?article=897" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$50 million</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In the decade leading up to 2016 their profits </span><a href="http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2017/investigations/tampa-electric/big-bend-hellfire-from-above/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">almost doubled</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to $250 million. CEO Nancy Tower earned </span><a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2018/04/04/inside-the-pay-package-of-tampa-electric-s-new-ceo.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$1.5 million</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> last year, while CEO of parent company Emera, Robert Bennett, earned almost $2.2 million. All that matters in judging a proposal in terms of climate change is whether it lines up with the goals of the IPCC report, not whatever positive framing a company might use to present it to the public. Construction is expected to begin in June 2019.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When it comes to the various failures of the big green NGOs in this country, nothing stands out like their disregarding of the climate change impacts of aviation. Going on a flight is the most damaging climate choice that an individual can make. A fully-booked return trip from London to New York produces </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/sunday-review/the-biggest-carbon-sin-air-travel.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">around 1.2 tonnes of CO2 per person</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (with the average American carbon footprint being about 19 tonnes a year). Planes use vast amounts of kerosene over vast distances, with a global warming effect that is, according to the IPCC, </span><a href="http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc/aviation/064.htm" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">around 2.7 times higher</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> than the carbon emissions they produce (due partially to the height at which planes operate). While aviation currently accounts for </span><a href="https://www.monbiot.com/2009/05/22/crash-landing/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">about 5%</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of global warming, it is also the fastest growing sector, at a time when other industries are at the very least under pressure to shrink their emissions. The 20,000 planes in the air today are projected, under a business as usual scenario, to number 50,000 by </span><a href="https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/transport/airplanes" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as soon as 2040</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The EU predicts that if this exception continues to be made for aviation its share of global CO2 output could be </span><a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/569964/IPOL_STU(2015)569964_EN.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">22% by 2050</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ballooning of the sector hugely outstrips all </span><a href="http://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2018/10/un-climate-science-bodys-ipcc-report-highlights-that-aviation-must-accelerate-emissions-reductions/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">slight improvements in fuel efficiency</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as most of the significant gains on this front have already been made. Alternative fuels (like hydrogen) and tech designs (like solar planes) remain little more than </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920916000158" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">public relations stunts</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Even if such routes were feasible, planes are expensive, so airlines keep them in service for decades, and are not likely to retire them early and build new ones without massive political pressure. Until a </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/06/aviation-emissions-agreement-united-nations" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">pathetic voluntary offset deal</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was struck in 2016, aviation was routinely ignored by national and international climate treaties because governments didn’t want to admit a simple fact: the only way to get a large cut in airline emissions is a large cut in the number of flights. Despite American driving habits, flying already makes up </span><a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-greenhouse-gas-emissions-aircraft" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12% of all transport emissions</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> nationally (it’s not clear how or if this number includes international flights).</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this information in mind, it’s possible that what is slated to happen at Tampa International Airport is even worse than what is happening at Big Bend. The </span><a href="https://www.gcr1.com/5010web/airport.cfm?Site=TPA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">publicly owned</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> airport has already spent a billion dollars on part one of a three phase plan, and intends to spend another billion. It involves turning the airport into what some have called a </span><a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/tampa-international-airport-morphing-into-a-mini-city-unto-itself/2325158" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“mini-city,”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> complete with offices, retailers, hotels, restaurants, and a giant car rental centre, with phase two expected to begin in </span><a href="http://www.tampaairport.com/master-plan-phase-2" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">late 2019</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. More alarmingly, the final phase of the project is designed to expand capacity from the 19.6 million passengers of 2017, to accommodate 34 million in the coming years </span><a href="https://www.tbo.com/news/business/airlines/Tampa-International-s-billion-dollar-update-is-a-new-airport-experience_165220455" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as demand grows</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This is classic expansionist spin: by building the extra gates and capacity, the airport is helping to </span><a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/Tampa-International-Airport-tops-20-million-passengers-in-a-year-St-Pete-Clearwater-has-biggest-September-ever_172680665" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stoke the increase in demand</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"It’s critical that we keep this airport up to date and support this kind of growth for the next twenty to thirty years," Hillsborough County Aviation Authority chair Robert Watkins </span><a href="https://www.tbo.com/news/business/airlines/Tampa-International-s-billion-dollar-update-is-a-new-airport-experience_165220455" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">said in February</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I’m sure it will seem like a wonderful investment when Tampa is hit by a </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/15/hurricane-category-6-this-is-how-world-ends-book-climate-change" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seventeen foot storm surge</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that puts the runways underwater. In a world where oil consumption must be cut in half within twelve years, is it logical or fair to allow an airport to almost double its emissions? Or should all that effort perhaps go into alternative modes of travel? If you’re currently objecting that our economy is highly dependent on flights from tourists, seasonal visitors and retirees, </span><a href="https://www.tampabay.com/business/study-tampa-is-a-top-10-area-for-retirees-who-like-to-travel-20181113/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you are correct</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and should be very angry at businesspeople and politicians who for decades have argued that this is a sustainable model. Luckily, CEO Joe Lopano (projected compensation for this year: </span><a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/Tampa-International-Airport-CEO-Joe-Lopano-gets-5-percent-raise-to-475-542_170551942" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$625,000</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, one of the highest paid airport CEOs in the country) has another plan, which is to have Tampa International achieve </span><a href="http://www.tampaairport.com/sites/default/master/files/Sustainability_letter%20from%20our%20CEO-July30.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">carbon neutral status</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There's just one problem: it only includes emissions from planes when they’re </span><a href="https://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org/about/how-does-it-work.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within the perimeter of the friggin’ airport</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given the almost complete lack of dissenting voices against these projects from either the press or local environmentalists (with the quiet exception of </span><a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/Sierra-Club-files-to-stop-Tampa-Electric-from-converting-to-gas_172338321" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sierra Club</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), direct action that causes disruption and draws attention is the only tactic that is going to drag them into public consciousness in anything like the speed that is necessary. These actions would be demanding and potentially dangerous. Last summer </span><a href="http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2017/investigations/tampa-electric/big-bend-hellfire-from-above/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">five workers were burned to death at Big Bend</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> whilst trying to clean underneath an active boiler. Airports are terrifying places to contemplate breaking the law. But climate activists managed interventions against runway expansions at Heathrow International and </span><a href="https://planestupid.com.archived.website/aboutus.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">other UK airports</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the years immediately following the attacks on the London Underground, and the introduction of the “liquids as bombs” terrorism approach that annoys fliers to this day. The U.S., with its paranoid and highly armed security apparatus, offers more challenges. But like all the others, we must overcome or subvert them.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Extinction Rebellion protests are aimed primarily at political targets in capital cities. Aside from the issue of </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2011/09/the-bigger-they-are-harder-they-fall.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">geographic barriers</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that we face from way down here, actions against actual emission points are still important, and can supplement and build momentum for the general idea of the non-violent uprising (and we can of course find worthy structural targets closer to home should we so choose). If we don’t oppose these plans that go full throttle in the wrong direction, and oppose them hard, they will make a mockery of any commitments our region makes -- in the present or future -- to 100% renewable energy. Climate change work that focuses on what we build at the expense of what we close down is missing the fundamental point.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Individuals can only choose honestly for themselves, but we must be brutally honest about what is a reason for holding back and what is an excuse. As a childless, partially youthful white male, I have certain advantages when it comes to confrontational protest. But I'm also a green card holder in an age where even </span><a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article214844345.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">green card holders</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-is-denying-passports-to-americans-along-the-border-throwing-their-citizenship-into-question/2018/08/29/1d630e84-a0da-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html?utm_term=.4ea16d8918ee&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">American citizens</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are not safe from deportation, and it seems as if almost anything can happen. I'm still more afraid of climate change than I am of the government. The chances are good that you also have room to maneuver in assisting with such actions. As ever, we need supporters, such as legal experts, child care givers, drivers, writers, medics and mental health experts, cooks, artists and </span><a href="http://www.climatedisobedience.org/services" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">funders</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. That means we need you.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a call to all the good people who support local businesses, care about plastic and straw pollution, voted to ban offshore oil drilling and expand transit spending in Hillsborough, decry the red tide and go on climate change demonstrations. Now or never is the time for commitment and sacrifice. In my article on the </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/rise-up-ringing-climate-march-rising-tide-international.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rise Up Climate march</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in St. Petersburg in September, I raised questions about whether it was worth our finite efforts to force a transition in a part of the world that is incredibly vulnerable to already locked-in climate change. I still think that is an important discussion. But whether we remain here or not, there is now no doubt that we have a responsibility to suffocate major sources of greenhouse gas emissions on our doorsteps. If we fail to see any developments on this front, if the community appears to have insufficient will to survive, it will only become worthy of abandonment in another sense. Tampa Bay is heading for extinction. The architects of that extinction are banking on our indifference. Are you ready to rebel?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Extinction Rebellion Tampa Bay planning page can be found </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Extinction-Rebellion-Tampa-Bay-363359117744554/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The first meeting will be in the next few weeks. James Lamont can be contacted at jamesalexanderlamont[at]gmail.com. His website is </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radical Beat</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-17938961092329170172018-11-17T08:39:00.000-08:002019-02-03T21:49:13.678-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-419a95d4-7fff-365c-f71c-dbb61081bdd9" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Antarctigo Vespucci</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Polyvinyl/Big Scary Monsters, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/antarctigo-vespucci-love-in-the-time-of-e-mail-polyvinyl-big-scary-monsters-2018/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-044a656c-7fff-9342-de4d-251bb49c6fe9" style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="425" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/XsGJf_TGIMXd8x18xa90HLtGoX8NF22CAUYmLiMDVMY0M6bMCu3fPQzxzzGAGJC2JCGjgfNxMUpUCxaHhWJpfOTNVpZ9J-CcxcBAhWMd8447YOaWsVa8-r5yT0gY8lMNYcI2ur4" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="425" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slackaholic Jeff Rosenstock is back with yet another album, inspiringly justifying his generally dishevelled look. This time it’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love in the Time of E-Mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a collaboration with Fake Problems singer Chris Farren, under the awkward Antarctigo Vespucci name. Apparently it’s a bad joke based on Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian guy who first presented evidence that the Americas were not in fact East Asia, and probably expected to remain a lot more famous for it. Imagining themselves as the know-it-alls of Antarctica, Rosenstock and Farren have made a wintery power pop album (their second together) that looks for warmth and fun in the snow. Following the eye-blinking, post-election emergence vibe of January’s </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POST-</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, this time Jeff is bundling up again, and having the audacity to think he might actually make it through the coming dark months unscathed.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know nothing about Chris Farren and Florida’s Fake Problems beyond what I’ve researched for this review. But his position as the primary singer for Antarctigo Vespucci gives you an idea of the kind of sheen that’s covering this project. He’s similar in turn to pop-rockers like Nate Ruess of The Format/fun., A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers, and Chris Conley of Saves The Day (with just slightly more positive results than this </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/saves-the-day-9-rude-records-equal-vision-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A&E review</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of their latest album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). Farren’s voice is much better suited to this style, with Rosenstock’s singing appeal being more that of the off-kilter unconventional. The keyboards, xylophone, guitars and other twinkles suggest cold imagery at a safe distance, and are underscored with just enough punk and distortion to make it all feel grounded. Maybe this holiday season you’ll spend some quality time with the people you care about, nobody will fall out, and you’ll feel some of life’s fleeting romance. After months of delaying this piece to research the </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">evils of a company that puts a happy face over unfathomable malice</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it sounds fantastically positive, despite featuring some forlorn love lyrics. You’ll want to sing along immediately despite not having a clue what the words are.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alongside all this twee goodness, the technological cynicism Rosenstock displayed on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POST-</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/why-i-havent-reviewed-jeff-rosenstock/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WORRY</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is still here, from the album title (with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E-Mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> replacing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cholera</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) on down: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Breathless on DVD</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">White Noise</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Voicemail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I see the appeals of these as subject matter. For all my primitivist bluster, I am willing without question to use tech available when I was a teenager, and still slowly adopt new practices at my own pace (getting my first smartphone in 2017, lowering my bourgeois standards to review streams and join the Apathy & Exhaustion WhatsApp group, etc). That DVDs and voicemails might be considered old and quaint shows you how fast norms continue to move, without any real time to consider the consequences. Dinosaur corporations might still gather customer email addresses with a fury, but kids no longer even make phone calls, don’t buy discs of plastic, don’t make email addresses except to please potential employers.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m proud to be a countervailing force to the official narrative of progress. It’s not full-on luddism (although their direct action was pretty great). It’s not about thinking these things are all bad or the previous was always good. Rosenstock wouldn’t be churning out recorded music with modern production value every five minutes if he was being dogmatic about it. He also wouldn’t have pioneered the idea of a free download label (</span><a href="http://quoteunquoterecords.com/index.htm" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quote/Unquote Records</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). My love life has been shaped overwhelmingly by internet communication, bringing me to this place where the thought of a white holiday season is about as realistic as Google not harvesting all our data so they can invest the money in some hairbrained startup. It’s just about challenging a viewpoint of technological faith that considers itself both the solution to all problems and inevitable -- which is often dangerous, or at least boring. Sure, life for most is getting shittier in ways both instinctive and empirical, but look at the latest sleek home surveillance device, that you can now get free with a </span><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/31/18044836/spotify-family-account-free-google-home-mini" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spotify account</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s another example of why this critical thinking and clinging to old norms remains well justified. Just as I did my initial listen to this album I got an email (ahem) from the progressive website The Baffler (one of the wonders of our paradise being the inability to do one thing at a time). Its subject was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Revolution Will Not Be Emailed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and an </span><a href="https://thebaffler.com/latest/nudging-the-lexicon-haigney" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">enclosed article</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> informed us that ten percent of all Gmail responses are now being sent by Smart Reply, those automated suggested sentences you may have seen under your messages (“Got it, thanks!”). What a fucking stupid state of affairs. Things are so out of control that even the relatively recent notion of the internet-based relationship might be destined to become a subject of nostalgia (and thus, a future Jeff Rosenstock song). Good luck trying to build a romantic connection with anything other than a goddamn fembot fax machine with that particular innovation. We’re drowning in so much digital trash that we can’t even be fucked to write the things!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POST-</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> review I made the request that if Rosenstock was going to continue moving away from punk influences into the arms of the </span><a href="https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/wjpzj5/a-chat-with-jeff-rosenstock-the-music-industrys-favorite-music-industry-outsider" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pitchfork Festival</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> crowd, he should do it without falling entirely into the post-emo indie blueprint of The Promise Ring and Jets To Brazil. Well, on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love in the Time of E-Mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he has very much gone a different way, much to my enjoyment. It’s still likely to get the approval of alternative trendsetters though, with a sugar pop sensibility that has every potential to truly crossover. In the video for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Freakin’ U Out</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (a fuzzy response to the old Samiam album) you can sense the duo’s desire for acceptance and relevance and also their unease with the idea. Jeff (complete with some bloody </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">prison-packed foil balloons</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) is late for their fake history museum piece titled </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">100 years of Antarctigo Vespucci</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Nobody shows up except an elderly woman who doesn’t even like their music, but she helps them realise that as long as they have their friendship, and even one person likes what they’ve put together, things can’t be that bad.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When not providing melodic joy, the likes of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Voicemail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So Vivid!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E-mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lifelike</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> remind me of last year’s </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/the-movielife-cities-in-search-of-a-heart-rise-records-2017/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cities in Search of a Heart</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the scratchy, melancholic release by The Movielife (happy first anniversary to my first assignment for Apathy & Exhaustion). These tracks, mostly coming at the very beginning and end of the record, are like segues from the harsh reality of life, acknowledging the listeners’ general feelings before inviting them to safely have fun in the intervening 28 minutes. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Voicemail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> starts the album with the clack of analogue equipment, distorted notes and an overall vibe reminiscent of sample masters Boards of Canada and the nostalgia microgenre of hauntology. The opening line is “I broadcasted your face onto my TV screen,” because everything except your loved ones is on there. Lo and behold, the third and final record by Fake Problems was apparently called </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real Ghosts Caught on Tape</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Final track </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E-Mail </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ends with bird tweets rather than social media ones, the artists heading back out into the thawed wilderness.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m often the sort of writer who doesn’t so much sit down at the proverbial typewriter and open a vein as hammer my head into the keys in frustration, but in trying to do this review I feel some of the same anxiety as I did when writing about Jeff’s previous offering. At the time of that one I put it down to my having only just gotten back into writing criticism on a regular basis, but I now suspect that it's because Rosenstock’s music has a quality to it which is hard to explain. And that is the sort of thing that terrifies us glorified opinion hawkers. It also, thankfully, makes for interesting listening, and explains why the “official alternative” press has taken an interest in him. It’s in the dreamy goosebumps chorus of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So Vivid!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the pummelling harmonies of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not Yours</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and the cascading melodies of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Price Is Right Theme Song</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Antarctigo Vespucci is at once relatable and evokes a magical musical ability. It’s most likely, of course, that as with most artists, Rosenstock has simply honed his craft over many years (I can’t say I thought much of The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, for example), and with his prolific output, that’s a lot of honing. Which is inspiringly human. As Jeff would doubtless agree, the idea of genius is mostly bollocks. Just keep at it. It’ll feel this good in the end.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can hear </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love in the Time of E-Mail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at </span><a href="https://antarctigovespucci.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bandcamp</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s available in the U.S. from </span><a href="https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/product/love_in_the_time_of_email" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Polyvinyl</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in various formats, including 180-gram black vinyl with red starburst colouring. The label also has a selection of merch including a suitably analogue </span><a href="https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/product/i_love_to_email_desk_set" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I love to email”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> desk set. In Europe, </span><a href="http://www.bsmrocks.com/products/627191-antarctigo-vespucci-love-in-the-time-of-e-mail-lp" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Big Scary Monsters</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Records has 200 exclusive copies of the album in black with light pink splatter.</span></span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-49397388195261934112018-11-02T14:36:00.000-07:002018-11-02T14:36:22.482-07:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-cb09ca3b-7fff-a979-f0ba-03c04111deb0" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">set and setting/Jensen Serf Company/Pipe Dreamer</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, October 12th 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paper Crane, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Silver Alert/McFeely’s/Imminent Riot/Laser Mouth</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, October 12th 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fubar, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set and setting, having won the Creative Loafing </span><a href="https://local.cltampa.com/publication/best-of-the-bay/creative-loafing-tampa-bay-best-of-the-bay-2018/arts-and-entertainment.NtPVKe/best-export" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Export</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> award this summer, are now on their way back from their European tour. So why not release a review of their local kick off show from three weeks ago at Paper Crane? Sorry to all those involved, but I’ve been busy trying to </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/party-for-your-right-to-fight-party-city-helium-shortage-prison-labour.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">batter the balloon-industrial complex into a thousand glittering pieces</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that were originally assembled with Minnesota prison labour. Judging by my lack of a firing, or the absence of a phone call from the </span><a href="https://www1.salary.com/James-M-Harrison-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-PARTY-CITY-HOLDCO-INC.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">company CEO</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> laughing in my ear as he inhales helium while masturbating, it’s off to a slow start.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speaking of class warrior dreams, the first act on this night are Tampa Bay metalheads </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLvXvG8tQn4a7D0dibJFDvQ/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pipe Dreamer</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. While the consensus is still lacking on whether heaven is a halfpipe, for these three there is no doubt that heavy is a full pipe. This is certainly not a dreampop project. Atmospheric Isis stylings of monster volume are veered away from only with a cool cover of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) (Metal)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Neil Young, the chorus of which features some massive pipe bellowing from the Pipe Dreamer drummer, made all the more powerful for his lack of microphone.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next is another band with a name that makes me think simultaneously of being an ageing punk kid pretending to understand extreme sports and being a jaded fighter for the plebeians, </span><a href="https://jensenserfco.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jensen Serf Company</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This scuzzy experimental garage act is one that has eluded me for many years despite various attempts, and they sound pretty class here. Ben’s vocals have an aloof quality to them, as if he’s gazing off to the side of your eyeline somewhere over the top of a slalom instrumental. A performed cut with the line “I was walking with a friend of mine” sounds very familiar, to the point where I later scout out and scour the split tape that JSC put out with New Pleasure on </span><a href="https://sturdygirls.bandcamp.com/album/jensen-serf-co-new-pleasure-split" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sturdy Girls Records</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in 2012 (yes, it’s taken me </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> long to see them). No avail though, and all that Google can tell me is that Steven “Lips” Tyler used the same words in some leathery skinned sex song. The baby step of finally catching Jensen Serf Company is enough for now though, with a short performance that provides the same sort of compact satisfaction as a cassette.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The nu-hippiedom vibes here at Paper Crane finally come to a head with guests of honour (mind)</span><a href="https://setandsetting.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">set and setting</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Off the back of their wonderful album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reflectionless</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> last year the mesmerising post-metallers today release their 4th record </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tabula Rasa</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, followed by the aforementioned tour in Europe -- a place I’d like to go in the next few months before continentals use the vast amount of free time provided to them by the bloc to build a giant seawall in the Channel. I happen to be thinking about this depressing scenario when </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bad and Boujee</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Migos fades out, just in time for me to hear two members of set and setting practicing their English accents by telling each other to “fuck off mate.” Well, I intend to after you’ve played a few bars at least. If that’s how you speak to each other in preparation for a gig it’s no wonder that Mark Etherington did that very thing and reduced you to one of those weird bands with </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2012/03/set-and-settingwindhandflying-snakesold.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">only one drummer</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Regardless, the drums here are still pounding, the bass insane, the guitars twiddling. There’s all that you could need as far as psychedelic headbanging, enveloping wormholes and intimidating slowdowns. Set and setting may not use words, but I do. A review without words would be a tabula rasa (blank slate) of its own, and a huge waste of none of your time.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* * *</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reduction in drummers continues, with the machine-powered duo </span><a href="https://lasermouth.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laser Mouth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">opening festivities over at my late summer hangout Fubar. But on this occasion I would sadly not catch them. With all my recent event hopping, I might be making a play for the fabled title of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xedn_lbTJzo" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“the internet’s busiest music nerd,”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> but I still can’t be in two places at once, at least until laser science improves a metric shit tonne. If you’ve been reading my stuff on the regular (as I fully expect you to have been) you’ll know </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/living-for-logan-jolly-fuckers-laser-mouth-broken-things-low-season-fubar.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">what to predict</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/iron-reagan-reality-asylum-debt-neglector-slow-code-leviathan-cross-laser-mouth-fubar-emeraldbar.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">other recent performances</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Lasers, mouths, bands terrified at the concept of playing after them, that sort of thing.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Pete punks </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/imminentriot" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imminent Riot</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are not too proud to admit their imminent intimidation of Laser Mouth. Let’s hope that’s all that makes them nervous. Between these guys and indie poppers 4 Star Riot playing over at Dunedin Brewery right about now, this could be the night that we finally overthrow our masters and burn this mother down. Everything we need seems to be present. Guitarist and singer Brad Wolf is wearing a Black Panther tee as the band performs </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Can’t Breathe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (“stop killing us!”). There’s a cover of a Billy Bragg song, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To Have and to Have Not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (although I imagine the Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards interpretation is more of a reference point for these dudes). Other “totally original” tunes come in the form of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More Beer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Fear and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where Is My Mind?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, to which the answer, clearly, is on the farthest outskirts of possibility. Be realistic -- demand the impossible!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I met </span><a href="https://mcfeelymusic.wixsite.com/main" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">McFeely’s</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bassist/singer Leah Kenady earlier this year at an absolutely </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/05/comrades-thrash-can-the-antidonts-scumbag-billionaires.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">amazing house show</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Clearwater (punk marriage proposals, cop shakedowns, top music). She gave me a copy of the band’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Expedite</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> record, and as their full former moniker states, they have a speedy delivery indeed. The all-singing trio also deliver poppy skate rock, and humour seems important to them, with their collective shirts sending a message involving the Knights of Ni, nuns and nipples, which sounds like a story arc from a </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI-WRb2u4po" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lost Father Ted episode</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Speaking of humorous intoxication, I have a load of notepad scribbles here that I cannot for the life of me understand, indicating that the alcohol was by this time coursing and that you should always type up your brainfarts ASAP. They include “Soccer? Colombia?,” something about a man in a Manchester United shirt slinking away, HHRT, IT/USB, what looks like “fatway” and zombie spider (which I do recall was about the Halloween costume of Leah and drummer Justin’s daughter, certainly not something made by the milquetoast wankers at Party City). It shouldn’t be surprising that their daughter wanted to creatively cross concepts, as McFeely’s have planned their recent narrative album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Neighborhood</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to coincide with a post-apocalyptic comic book, the first chapter of which is available to view </span><a href="https://www.flipsnack.com/mcfeelysmusic/mcfeely-s-the-neighborhood-issue-1-chapter-1.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and taps into that ever so relatable feeling that the whole world is going to fuck in a handbasket.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So things don’t bode well for my coverage of </span><a href="https://silveralert.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Silver Alert</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but let’s give it a go. I know for a fact that I was planning to head home (due to having work at eight and it now being something like one), but it appears that I used the framing of my anti-capitalist worldview to say </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FUCK IT!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I can sell people their ethnically insensitive costumes whilst feeling like dogger, and for that I get to enjoy the 100 mph stylings of these local old souls. I mysteriously pick out the detail of a NOFX beer coozy somewhere on stage, a band Silver Alert resemble when they have the audacity to slow it down a little bit. Tracks like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Cat Song</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (“I don’t wanna go to work… </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/mikelasermouth/videos/751148555238452/UzpfSTczNDM5MDI0OToxMDE1NjQ5MzAzNTgzMDI1MA/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”) and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m Tired</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (“All I wanna do / Is fall asleep by two”) are lightning fast cries for elusive sleep in the face of employment, that take on an artistic importance that just didn’t occur to me when I saw the silver oldies at the luxuriously early time of </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-problemaddicts-kevin-k-band-silver-alert-the-bends.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10pm back in March</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s like listening to a </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Rosenstock record</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (the new Antarctigo Vespucci being another piece that I’m catching up with). Trying to stave off tomorrow morning is like trying to stave off ageing, and as I write this in a woke stupor (in efforts to get aligned for a series of post-Halloween overnights) I am much more conscious of the fact that sleep is </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/22/cant-sleep-perhaps-youre-overtired" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not up for negotiation</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and we are all getting less of it than ever. Trying to force some actual personal life out of the work straight jacket gives a temporary reprieve at least, even if it is at the expense of our health.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would repeat a more extreme version of these events two weeks later at a Halloween party, where I would meet a chap with a Mega Man gun arm and a large cardboard robot head. He told me he made the head to attend the gigs of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh080clsAhk" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nerds Raging</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a local band that shares members with Silver Alert. After trying to talk to him about the scene over the course of several hours that probably ended with me each time getting distracted by a passing drink, I went home, and spewed violent chunks into a fake helmet, provided to me for the night courtesy of Party City.</span></span></span></div>
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RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-88924763001298489622018-10-24T10:11:00.000-07:002019-02-03T22:15:41.687-08:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-e528c796-7fff-3c92-6063-6bfad2e94a84" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Party For Your Right To Fight</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br />Whether wasting valuable resources or being a brutal employer, Party City is a corporation that gives us very little reason to celebrate</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In March 2013, the Northeastern retailer iParty was bought out by its much larger competitor, Party City. While the demise of iParty can be attributed to various factors, the final blow </span><a href="https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2013/03/01/iparty-agrees-to-be-acquired-by-party-city" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">came from Hurricane Sandy</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which arrived in the company’s main market at the end of October 2012, the biggest time of year for party suppliers. Sandy was the </span><a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/UpdatedCostliest.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">second-costliest storm in U.S. history</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at the time, temporarily wiping out the economy across multiple states. The relatively small 54-store company was swallowed for $38 million, or the amount of gross profit that Party City currently makes in </span><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/earnings/party-city-has-wall-street-in-celebration-mode-14584539" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">about three months</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In other words, Party City acted as something that we can expect to see a lot more of in the coming decades: a climate change opportunist.<br /><br />All signs indicate that this is a cycle that the brand intends to perpetuate moving forward. Their entire business model is based upon using resources as quickly as possible, with inevitable environmental damage. The sooner that a plastic cup breaks or is otherwise thrown away, the sooner a consumer will buy a new one, with the entire mining, manufacturing and transport footprint (much of which the company controls) sitting within it. This is another way of saying that the Party City business model is to run themselves out of business as quickly as possible, by bumping up against ecological boundaries that prevent them from continuing the frenzy (the hurricanes, after all, now point towards the stores that they’ve acquired). The first boundary particular to a party supplier might well be helium. As it is a non-renewable resource with a multitude of important uses, the helium balloon business is both unsustainable and irresponsible.<br /><br />The modern balloon industry has grown in recent decades with the help, essentially, of massive public subsidies. In 1996 the U.S. government decided to begin </span><a href="https://geology.com/articles/helium/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">selling off</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a giant helium reserve that it had been building up for the previous seven decades in Texas, known as the Cliffside Storage Facility. Distributors were able to buy helium at about half the market price, discouraging them from investing in their own prospecting. Under current conditions, the reserve will be sold out or privatised </span><a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/helium/mcs-2016-heliu.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by 2021</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, when today it provides some </span><a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=116797" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">30% of global supply</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Since 2013 the reserve has been selling its diminishing helium using a </span><a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398965" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">controversial auction system</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that has allowed huge industry players to buy entire offerings and shut out competitors. At the most recent auction in August (the last one open to non-government users), prices jumped </span><a href="https://www.gasworld.com/blm-reaps-windfall-from-fy-2019-helium-auction/2015344.article" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">135% over the previous year</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, driving costs up throughout the supply chain. U.S. imports of helium (coming from second largest producer Qatar, at 32% of worldwide supply) went from zero or trace amounts in 2011 to an estimated </span><a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/helium/mcs-2016-heliu.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 million cubic metres</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by 2015. This is a relatively small figure, but a telling development in a country still producing </span><a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/bruin-point-helium-corp-provides-analysis-of-the-north-american-helium-market-669665273.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">over half the global total</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />In the summer of 2017 all exports from Qatar were </span><a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/bruin-point-helium-corp-provides-analysis-of-the-north-american-helium-market-669665273.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">temporarily blockaded</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by surrounding Middle Eastern countries over political disagreements, leading immediately to a shortage. In a move somehow reeking both of desperation and corporate deference, last year the House passed the </span><a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=403250" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Helium Extraction Act</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that allows public land to be leased for helium extraction under the same </span><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/371912-interior-roll-backs-oil-drilling-policies-for-federal-land" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“streamlined”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> terms as natural gas and oil drilling. Helium production is mostly a byproduct of gas drilling (which today often means fracking), and while it can be obtained through other methods it is generally not financially worthwhile. This means that using helium based products often financially supports the fossil fuel industry. The growing climate movement against fossil fuel infrastructure and investment ($6 trillion of endowments and portfolios have been </span><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2018/9/11/headlines/bill_mckibben_more_than_6_trillion_divested_from_fossil_fuel_companies_so_far" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">divested from fossil fuel companies so far</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) poses a further risk to helium supplies and prices. In 2012 John Lee, chairperson of the UK balloon industry body NABAS, claimed that the problem was so severe that by 2020 </span><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/up-up-away-helium-shortage-sends-prices-sky-high-8081382.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">party balloons filled with helium could be a relic</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />So it is perhaps not surprising that the helium world has been discussing bottlenecks in supply for much of 2018. Global forces finally outstretched Party City’s corporate reach in August, when it was forced to reluctantly allow its employees nationwide to limit balloon sales where necessary. This rationing is still in effect months later with no indication that it will end anytime soon. Exact figures on how much of the total helium supply is used for recreational balloons are difficult to come by (although the National Research Council described it as </span><a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/12844/chapter/6#67" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“significant”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), with most </span><a href="http://www.visualcapitalist.com/helium-a-valuable-gas-not-to-be-taken-lightly/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">statistics</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> mixing their portion in with weather balloons and blimps. But what is not in doubt is that Party City is a major component. They regularly describe themselves, not unbelievably, as the world’s market leader in party goods. Their subsidiary Anagram is responsible for </span><a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/832897007/files/doc_presentations/2017/01-10-17-ICR-Conference_v01.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">60%</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the global mylar market (the shiny foil balloons made from non-biodegradable </span><a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/mother-nature-says-stop-releasing-balloons.htm" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NASA grade nylon</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), popular because they are more detailed and float longer than conventional latex balloons. Any lack of helium for this use, however, is the least of our problems.<br /><br />Concerns over a stable supply of helium don’t seem so insidious when you learn that the two largest uses for it are MRI machines and scientific research, responsible for around </span><a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/48186-what-is-helium-used-for-other-than-balloons" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one third of all demand</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. These fields rely on liquid helium’s extremely low boiling point to cool superconductors, and there is no substitute material. Fourth-generation nuclear reactors, that many believe will play a vital role in decarbonising the electricity supply and disposing of nuclear waste, also </span><a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/12844/chapter/6#69" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rely on helium as a coolant</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The element is </span><a href="http://askzephyr.com/15-uses-for-helium-you-never-knew/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">used</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the fibre-optic cables that make the internet possible, semiconductor chips found in modern tech, welding, leak detection, diving, space shuttles, airbags and (perhaps of most concern to the U.S. government) </span><a href="http://summitsourcefunding.com/blog/helium-uses-in-the-us-military-and-us-defense/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">heat-guided missiles</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, among other military functions. Many of these applications require helium that is at least </span><a href="https://askzephyr.com/what-are-the-different-grades-of-helium-and-what-are-they-used-for/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">99.99% pure</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />Party industry mouthpieces </span><a href="https://ebpcouncil.eu/the-framework/helium" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">located in Europe</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> claim that they are actually supporting medical and scientific facilities by selling balloons: these industries capture escaped helium when filling their instruments, and sell on the air-contaminated “balloon gas” product. This recapturing of helium by the large scale industrial users is, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, </span><a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/helium/mcs-2016-heliu.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rare in the United States</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (perhaps because the artificially low price of government helium made it not worth the effort). The Connecticut-based distributor for Party City, Praxair, does sell a 97.5% helium blend intended for balloons, but it also sells </span><a href="https://www.praxairdirect.com/Product2_10152_10051_14626_-1_11537___" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">multiple pure varieties</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for the same purpose, suggesting that there isn’t enough of the balloon-grade stuff to satisfy party companies. Even if more impure helium was available, distributors would need to </span><a href="http://www.kornbluthheliumconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cryo1.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">invest more money</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in an almost completely separate supply network. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that the majority of floating Party City balloons, if not all, are competing directly with hospitals and science labs. Scientists have expressed frustration at such frivolous use of the gas, with Nobel Prize winning helium expert Robert Richardson suggesting that an accurate market price for a helium filled balloon would be </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-19676639" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">around $100</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />All industries in the business of turning the natural world into waste respond to talk of scarcity in </span><a href="https://www.gasworld.com/global-helium-summit-2018-closes/2015512.article" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the same way</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: technology will improve, expensive reserves will become financially viable, and we will continue scouting the globe for new sites regardless of the effects on the people who live there. Every time we believe these claims in order to justify current consumption patterns, we are crossing our collective fingers and taking a leap of faith. It is an unnecessary risk to human health and wellbeing to use helium in disposable balloons when we don’t know what the future level of supply will be. If Party City had any sense of responsibility or even self-preservation, they would keep rationing measures in place at all times, tighten them down going forward, and create an absolute cap. Logic dictates that it will have to happen eventually for a non-renewable resource: no amount of efficiency will create helium from nothing. If they’re as innovative as they claim to be they will still make money, but instead they pursue their own obsolescence as fast as possible. Throughout this shortage, ground level store management has shown more finesse in resource facilitation than the company at large has shown any sign of employing.<br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anagram has its foil balloon production facility in the affluent suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. At least that sounds pleasant and sustainable, right? The jobs in Eden Prairie count towards Party City’s </span><a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/832897007/files/doc_presentations/2017/01-10-17-ICR-Conference_v01.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stated goal</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of owning more of their manufacturing base, and making those jobs here in the U.S. What’s not put in the </span><a href="https://investor.partycity.com/investors/press-releases/Press-Release-Details/2017/Made-With-Love-In-America/default.aspx" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">press release</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that after leaving the factory the balloons are shipped out to Minnesota prisons, where they are packaged by inmates earning as little as </span><a href="http://www.doc.state.mn.us/DocPolicy2/html/DPW_Display_TOC.asp?Opt=204.010.htm" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">25 cents an hour</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or 6 cents after </span><a href="https://www.workdayminnesota.org/articles/prison-labor-minnesota-part-2" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">deductions from their paychecks</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are made such as room and board. The remaining bounty is generally needed to purchase hygiene products at the prison commissary. The commissary and the prison labour program are </span><a href="https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/principles-of-less-eligibility-the-human-cost-of-prison-labor-part-i/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">operated by MINNCOR</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a profit-generating body working throughout the state. Party City is their biggest private customer, with a contract worth over </span><a href="https://www.workdayminnesota.org/articles/prison-labor-minnesota-part-2" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$9 million in 2016</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> representing 19% of MINNCOR’s total revenue. “At times, some businesses have problems finding workers willing to perform tedious, low-skill tasks, such as counting and packing balloons,” states a </span><a href="https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/minncor.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2009 MINNCOR audit report</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />The savings made stiffing </span><a href="https://eji.org/history-racial-injustice-prison-labor" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">victims of the wording of the 13th amendment</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are not going back into the maintenance of the prison; in fact the work program seems to be calling the shots. One longtime facility manager </span><a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/07/27/doc-commissioner-presser-joseph-gomm/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">said</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> safety concerns are often overlooked to get inmates back to work on product orders. In July a guard was allegedly </span><a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/07/27/doc-commissioner-presser-joseph-gomm/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">killed with a hammer</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in a MINNCOR workshop on a floor where no security cameras had been installed. A former worker </span><a href="https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/principles-of-less-eligibility-the-human-cost-of-prison-labor-part-i/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">described</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an Anagram packaging space as “a sweatshop with low light, no windows and poor ventilation that led to smells that resembled a gymnasium,” with some prisons in the state packing balloons at </span><a href="https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/principles-of-less-eligibility-the-human-cost-of-prison-labor-part-ii" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all hours</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the day. MINNCOR CEO David Milton makes </span><a href="https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/principles-of-less-eligibility-the-human-cost-of-prison-labor-part-ii/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$58 an hour</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />Against the rise of abusive prison labour, inmates have organised hunger strikes, work stoppages and commissary boycotts in recent years, including a wave of actions this past August and September that cut across </span><a href="https://incarceratedworkers.org/news/prison-strike-updates-week-four" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at least sixteen</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> states. That number might have included Minnesota -- disrupting the timely delivery of birthday balloons for Party City -- had it not been for the fact that activist prisoners in that state have been </span><a href="https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/principles-of-less-eligibility-the-human-cost-of-prison-labor-part-ii/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thrown in solitary confinement</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, had phone privileges cut, and been transferred to other facilities. These are the conditions under which the majority of the world’s foil balloons are packaged. Anagram has a ridiculous </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/193712323" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">promotional video</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, in which people on the job are surprised with the delivery of a mylar balloon from a smiling spokesperson. How thoughtful: the workplace can indeed be unpleasant.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In further evidence of Party City’s desire to improve the lot of American workers, sourcing of certain items is now being taken out of China -- and moved into the sweatshops of the surrounding countries. A </span><a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/832897007/files/doc_presentations/2017/01-10-17-ICR-Conference_v01.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">company document</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from 2017 features the following quote: “ … we have been diversifying away from China to take advantage of lower wages and duties in Vietnam, India, Indonesia”. Their vertical control over large segments of their distribution and manufacturing allows Party City to have what CFO Dan Sullivan recently described as </span><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/earnings/party-city-has-wall-street-in-celebration-mode-14584539" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"almost un-retail-like economics."</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I would additionally describe what the company engages in as the pursuit of uneconomic growth: more money might be circulating in the economy, but the damage being done in the pursuit of making that money (such as resource depletion and lower real wages) causes more overall harm to society than good. Even when the economy of a company or country grows, the benefits are not likely to spread out evenly, with the business class claiming </span><a href="https://theoutline.com/post/6331/millions-of-workers-are-still-feeling-the-effects-of-the-great-recession?utm_source=contributor_pages" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lion’s share of additional income</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, while regular people earn </span><a href="https://steadystate.org/the-poison-beer-of-gdp/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">little extra or even see their proportion decline</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.<br /><br />You can see this at play at the storefront level. Companies such as Party City tell their employees, often with a straight face, that if they work harder and sales rise the number of available work hours will increase, when the correlation between the two is so weak it’s arguably non-existent. If a location is doing adequately, as far as corporate is concerned, it does not need more time to get the work done. As general policy, the company is going to spend as little as it can possibly get away with while pocketing any extra cash. And even that spending floor is subject to interpretation. Payroll fluctuates down to the bone following the calendar of holidays, leaving associates to survive on 4 or 8 hours a week for much of the year and managers scrambling to fill the gap. Stores that do millions of dollars of business a year are operated by 2 or 3 employees at a time. Days generally begin at 7 or 6 in the morning, the only way to squeeze more productivity out of it being to work hours before the doors open, with the never-ending conveyer belt of freight that pours in not to be pushed after 11am. Stores expect annual payroll cuts for seasons too, sometimes losing hundreds of weekly hours or half the original amount over the course of just a couple of years. I have to imagine that the famous </span><a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/03/28/what-sam-walton-would-have-to-say-about-walmarts-m.aspx" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam Walton quote</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (“payroll is one of the most crucial things you have to fight to maintain your profit margin”) is on some huge plaque at Party City’s New York HQ, because they make a sport of it that challenges even The Great Wal.<br /><br />The workload generally increases in conjunction with such hour cuts. The absolute rules of time are not any more understood than the absolutely physical laws of resource use. It would be absurd to try and explain in any detail the increased operational workload that Party City unloads on its employees on an almost weekly basis. If, at checkout, the cashier hasn’t asked you a half-dozen questions (for which there is an enforced target for each one), they are cutting corners. Customers are faced with a choice between helping an employee and protecting themselves from corporate data gathering designed to make them spend more. The recent addition of a buy online, pick up in store service, where workers do customer’s shopping with no additional time given, is also a good example. Anyone who has been in the carnage soup that is Party City around Halloween -- or experienced the balloon-counter crush of a weekend -- has seen the wild-eyed chaos of back-to-back-to-back Black Fridays, and has a good idea of an employee’s mental state all year round. It’s not so much what the business world calls “stretch goals” (aspirational targets) as stretch rack goals, where low-wage workers’ bodies and sense of self-worth are dashed on the altar of profits. The minimal hours granted, fractured schedules and casualised nature of the job all make union-building efforts all but impossible. If you have found it difficult to get assistance in these establishments, here is your explanation.<br /><br />Hourly pay in no way compensates for these payroll cuts or increased physical and mental burdens. There is obviously some variance due to state laws, but new employees can expect to make minimum wage (currently $7.25 at the federal level), with measly 2% increases for each year of service. Few workers hired last this long and these increased rates don’t get bumped up on the rare occasions that the local minimum rises. The only way to get a remotely sustaining income with more hours is to pursue a rare chance at promotion, which Party City, through either malice or incompetence (or malice disguised as incompetence), will routinely string out over many months to keep employees working above their pay grades. Even so, supervisors and lower management are lucky in many states if they make double digits. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage in 1968 was </span><a href="https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-are-annual-earnings-full-time-minimum-wage-worker" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$11.39 per hour</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Last year’s total compensation for the 6 top executives at the company? </span><a href="https://www1.salary.com/PARTY-CITY-HOLDCO-INC-Executive-Salaries.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10.6 million dollars</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Grab the plastic pitchforks.<br /><br />This poverty-striking approach is becoming less fashionable, even in corporate America. Target will have a </span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-amazon-really-raised-minimum-wage/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$15</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> minimum wage by 2020. Costco now pays </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-raises-its-minimum-wage-2018-6" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$14</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and Disney will pay </span><a href="http://time.com/money/5378529/walt-disney-world-minimum-wage-contract/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$15 by 2021</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Following a barrage of criticism, Amazon just announced that it will be paying all its workers, including temporary and seasonal ones, </span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-amazon-really-raised-minimum-wage/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$15 an hour</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> starting November 1st, when most Party City employees will be submerging their broken bodies into vats of cheap epsom salt. Even Walmart now pays a starting wage of </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-raises-its-minimum-wage-2018-6" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$11</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I used to say Party City was Walmart with brighter colours, but that no longer seems fair. Many of these firms have accompanied the changes with various price hikes, layoffs and other trickery, but it’s still more progress than Party City has felt any pressure to provide. I would encourage the Fight For $15 movement, responsible for many of the recent wins on this front, to look in their direction. As one goading number on the in-store playlist goes without any sense of self-awareness, “Get up, stand up / </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Hb-XJWnsk" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stand up for your rights</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.”<br /><br />Given these attitudes towards the human beings that keep their business running, it should hardly surprise to learn that their 2018 product line continues to include </span><a href="https://twitter.com/partycity/status/1046456081197740035?s=21" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unapologetically ghoulish depictions</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the peoples largely exterminated from this continent so we could have these nice things, cartoonish accessories for “witch doctors,” pimps and Mexicans, a very diverse variety of cop and military apparel (presumably to keep all the other costumes in check), and a roster of women's and girl’s costumes perhaps best exemplified by another in-store playlist choice, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Writer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, by English popstress Ellie Goulding (“Why don't you be the artist and make me out of clay? / Why don't you be the writer and decide the words I say?”).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When a company’s only goal is increased and rapid money gathering, it can be hard to tell whether its greedy actions are coming from a place of economic desperation or confidence; in other words whether things are going poor or well on the balance sheet. For the last two years Party City reported </span><a href="http://fortune.com/2018/06/25/party-city-toys-holiday/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">declining sales</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at its stores compared to previous years. Even so, </span><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/earnings/party-city-has-wall-street-in-celebration-mode-14584539" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">according</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to Dan Sullivan, their control over their supply chain means that it doesn’t entirely matter; they can move manufacturing to places where workers earn less and visibly lower the quality or size of certain products. They are able to tell investors that they have </span><a href="https://investor.partycity.com/annual-report-2017/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seventeen straight years of growth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> under their belts. Following predatory practices once again, the company, in the wake of the death of Toys “R” Us, opened </span><a href="https://investor.partycity.com/investors/press-releases/Press-Release-Details/2018/Party-City-Announces-Second-Quarter-2018-Financial-Results/default.aspx" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fifty Toy City locations (some in the newly empty stores) for the holiday season</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and began a pilot project with Amazon to shore up against the company positioned to eventually take over everything. But in a sense, for everyone outside the boardroom, it doesn’t matter how things are going internally. The results are the same: namely that we all suffer as Party City increasingly grinds its employees and our environment into dust in its pursuit of never-ending expansion.<br /><br />If you aren't convinced that colourful floating balloons represent a significant threat to human prosperity, consider them a symbolic representation of everything else Party City does. The company could be said to be efficient in one way, in the sense that every square inch is always stuffed to the brim with merchandise. Short customers and employees cannot reach items on top rows. Backrooms are scarcely navigable cramped mazes of cardboard. They introduce over </span><a href="https://investor.partycity.com/annual-report-2017/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8,000 new products</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a year. “Sustainable growth remains an inherent characteristic of our business,” said CEO James Harrison in the </span><a href="https://investor.partycity.com/annual-report-2017/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2017 company report</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for investors. But sustainable growth is a contradiction in terms that threatens our future. Three recent major empirical studies have shown that under even the theoretically most efficient conditions, </span><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/12/why-growth-cant-be-green/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the decoupling of economic growth from increased resource use is impossible on a global scale</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: you can have ever more money for shareholders or a planet for us to live reasonably well on, but not both. Like most major corporations, the stated goals of Party City are incompatible with human civilisation. One of the reasons that retail now accounts for so much employment in countries like the U.S. is that pointless, worthless consumerism is largely </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/10/on-12th-day-christmas-present-junk" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the only way to keep the engine of economic growth moving forward</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in societies that already have all the wealth that they need. If we are to ever take the </span><a href="https://risingup.org.uk/XR/rebel.php" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">urgent steps</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> needed to bring the economy back within our planet’s physical boundaries, a company with such microscopic social value as this one should be an early candidate for being scaled down or abolished.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">* * *</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To all this criticism, Party City has a tantalising emotional defense. “Sure, nobody </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">needs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our products that help to destroy the life support systems of the planet, but we deal in celebration and mirth.” Who wants to stop kids having their Ninja Turtle birthdays? Do you want life to be joyless? As such a sentiment demonstrates, the majority of the business deals in some level of guilt tripping. Like many companies, Party City is one that has created a certain demand, then innocently claims to be providing the necessary supply. It adds yet more obligations to the endless list of modern life, in conjunction with children’s franchises and their marketing technique of </span><a href="https://www.monbiot.com/1998/12/04/pester-power/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">pester power</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If kids honestly can’t be happy with a balloon filled with air, it's because some adult wanted to make their parents pay for helium instead of using their own lungs. You might say that, beyond causing harm to others, to each their own, and I would agree, but that also means our thoughts and desires should be free from the manipulations of corporate advertisers and their expensive visions of what a celebration looks like.<br /><br />In most of the world and throughout most of human history no such wide-reaching industry has existed, and people still somehow manage to celebrate birthdays, weddings and other occasions with a more modest selection of items. If anyone feels that their happiness would be seriously harmed by not having this supply of cardboard, plastic and blinking lights, I would suggest not only that they consider what is done to people to get the products into their hands, but that their lust for life has been seriously and intentionally dulled. For all that most of these products add to the sum of human pleasure, you’d get more of a lasting rush by eating them, and </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateharrison/2013/11/14/why-i-wont-buy-bpa-free-baby-products/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">riding the wave of toxic ingredients</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. When we teach our children to consume products as if there’s no tomorrow, we set them up for disappointment (and much worse) tomorrow, when the resources will be even more noticeably dwindling.<br /><br />Party City is looking to change more people’s habits, selling to all the world even as the planet buckles. While brick-and-mortar stores are presently in just a handful of countries, the tentacles of the wholesale business mean their products are sold in some capacity in </span><a href="https://s2.q4cdn.com/832897007/files/doc_presentations/2017/01-10-17-ICR-Conference_v01.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">over 100</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Their American store footprint is fast approaching a thousand. The company appears to feel untouchable. It has a niche that has allowed it to grow hugely, relatively shielded from the threat of online shopping, but hidden from the sight of anyone who has not yet fallen for their ploys. What they deserve is the wrong kind of interest. This is the distillation of our entire extractive economy, total destruction hidden behind sanitized novelty. It’s a perfect vision of our work culture, contributing to ill health, stress, depression and a lack of life satisfaction. All people of good conscience should boycott this company until the party that its executives and investors are enjoying is popped, and sent back down to Earth.</span></span></span></div>
RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-77657087824069143942018-10-22T11:55:00.000-07:002018-11-18T12:02:29.991-08:00<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Torche/Horsewhip/Leviathan Cross</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Sunday, October 21st 2018</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Fubar, St. Petersburg FL</b></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="mtm _5pco" data-ad-preview="message" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm working on too much right now to do a full review, but I still wanted to word up some brains on last night's <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/event.php?id=319851955436877&extragetparams=%7B%22source%22%3A1%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22permalink%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22surface%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%2C%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdKH-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARDevACFTWgOEDqwBjfBCpZLfNhIMYEHXCmwByAQ9X0v4HDRG_QfCqF2Aq1iSIdLUAVr-65CsHlilRqa%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/319851955436877/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A1%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22permalink%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22surface%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D&source=1&action_history=%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22permalink%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22surface%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D&has_source=1&__tn__=KH-R&eid=ARDevACFTWgOEDqwBjfBCpZLfNhIMYEHXCmwByAQ9X0v4HDRG_QfCqF2Aq1iSIdLUAVr-65CsHlilRqa&fref=mentions&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDbi3K7EYxbpCOma-YElLbjNzNsSEhKWxd-0NyyO2VSAS6H3-iO0uOftKtO5Kyq49cVialmaFmHpfJ0VKo-34A6aAH_HCFQ5FQ1H4HxHHZwknK4uzcns_TcK70uZ_gdAKrO6q2fa2d51RmRHQZt3FCGR9xtar3xUl4BshR4DluYybFcTSsdgYHAB6QS9MA9yU_ZLQzkSwe1NeOXCtzpjaeyFWxaLc47r9r0tQxfg1oEe6uF5atRfpExrVURCfR5mGylPeXsFKd9kt3b0kFF0t0KFkF2g6AWyX0qb5cjdHOQERDZMswoudsKEo0" target="_blank">Torche, Horsewhip, and Leviathan Cross at Fubar</a> gig.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=1546556492314288&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdKH-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARCkRqZhZCd3kFqAp8tOWspSRJDBoFfq8Oe5E4GpCu3JPaMXF8pWt5NVtqsJDWI_UG2vnPFKNbsqEPCT%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://leviathancross.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Leviathan Cross</a></b>
were fantastic, again, with their brand of witch house hard rock. See
the link <a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/iron-reagan-reality-asylum-debt-neglector-slow-code-leviathan-cross-laser-mouth-fubar-emeraldbar.html" target="_blank">here</a> for another chance to read about their recent gig with
Iron Reagan.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I'm such a hungry vegan I could eat a
seitan-assembled horse! But nobody wants that, so get nourished with the
heavy punk-metal of St. Pete's <b><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=301850826906525&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdKH-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARDkMXVlHiKc5fCtAbQ2eI1oFZsNJOLFpVSop2-de5g9FUX8Nm1DPJsNpmRJoa1Mtt0oaLhDVO77DReL%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://horsewhipfl.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Horsewhip</a></b>.
They've been on my watch list for ages and I'm really glad to have
finally seen them. There's enough power, violence and volume here to
blow your layers away till you look like one of those Stalhorses from
<i>Breath of The Wild</i>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> It's not pronounced "Torsch" apparently,
which it seems to me puts them in the same category as all those daft
boutique American "shoppes." Still, the live experience of <b><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=194680127241731&extragetparams=%7B%22__tn__%22%3A%22%2CdKH-R-R%22%2C%22eid%22%3A%22ARDhKPNFtcjKeT7qN0xs-7kWuxd0lzFok1z37fcD6Rfh02gfv0a7CkNjljwgeE975F85lgChb6H2Nrzc%22%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="http://www.torchemusic.com/discography/" target="_blank">Torche</a></b>
wonderfully translates their thick tuneful sludge cut through with
colour, making for absolute trance-inducing beauty. They're playing
every day this week between here and Richmond, and I suggest you go see
them if you can!</span></span></div>
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<br />
<img alt="Image may contain: one or more people and text" aria-busy="true" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent.ftpa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/43133288_536419760116296_8871517569958281216_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&_nc_ht=scontent.ftpa1-1.fna&oh=4380a4d2ac9bb4634c79dae168c4be30&oe=5C8536F3" style="height: 763px; width: 494px;" />RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-17889408049987418212018-10-08T14:44:00.001-07:002018-10-08T14:44:29.658-07:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-78d30dad-7fff-e991-f88d-96b4af30f3a6" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slade and the Wasters/Postcard Scene</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, September 29th 2018</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fubar, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday Sisterhood: Music & Charity</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, September 29th 2018</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Independent Bar, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Event clashes are </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/10/iron-reagan-reality-asylum-debt-neglector-slow-code-leviathan-cross-laser-mouth-fubar-emeraldbar.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">like buses this week</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, except for the fact that the Pinellas bus system is less reliable than even the most punk time show you've ever tried to attend, more likely to send zero buses than two. Bands don't generally run obscenely late, disappear from the fucking running order suddenly then show up seemingly at random while the audience stands clueless as to how to carry on with their day. So I missed </span><a href="https://gammawaves1.bandcamp.com/releases" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gamma Waves</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (also apologies to </span><a href="https://yogurtsmoothness.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yogurt Smoothness</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but these two bars are a fair few blocks apart and I worked all day). Both acts are from Orlando, so I’m sure there’s a perfectly quick, comfortable, affordable way of getting up there if you don’t have a car. If you’re willing to wait </span><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/transportation/fl-reg-brightline-orlando-tampa-20180625-story.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at least three years</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and we don’t all die of asthma attacks and Category 6 hurricanes before then.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/postcardsceneofficial/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Postcard Scene</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> used to be </span><a href="https://pornoparty.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Porno Party</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a name I remember seeing around. It's a welcome but jarring change. The former sounds like a shit Dwarves knock off (a band I didn't have a great association with even before I had my arm smashed to smithereens at one of their gigs a few years ago) while the latter evokes images of post-rock emo. Postcard Scene are neither. With a Jello Biafra cheekiness from their singer Gordie and a completely uneven hair distribution, the band provide super fast, satisfying and complex punk, without being overly techy. Tech issues, in fact, make their performance all the more impressive, as apparently drummer Chris couldn’t hear a damn thing. A postcard would not really convey how good they are to see in person.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I traipse my retail-shredded feet over to Independent Bar, and sit my arse down to drink beer for a good cause. Dozens of people are doing the same thing. The cause in question is </span><a href="http://www.casa-stpete.org/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CASA St Petersburg</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Community Action Stops Abuse), the official domestic violence centre for southern Pinellas. They’re proactive and reactive, providing various training options and educational speaking engagements to organisations locally, as well as offering support to survivors of abuse with a shelter, a resource centre and support groups. I obviously fully appreciate taking action by way of words, even as I spend the lion's share of an hour at Independent in complete solitude, listening to a perfectly relaxing all-female vinyl set courtesy of the two women behind the decks (a sadly </span><a href="https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/female-DJs-take-on-techno-boys-club" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">rare phenomenon</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). There are quality cuts from Gwen Stefani, Carly Simon and Madonna, delivered by DJ’s Fresh Step and Meow Mix-a-lot (who thankfully was willing to remind me later on of the megamix wordplay of her name. I failed to make a note of it, and trying to figure out a cat themed identity using the internet is apparently an utter fool’s errand). The beers in question were donated by the woman-owned brewery 7venth Sun from Dunedin, with all proceeds also going to CASA (for whom they also had their own </span><a href="https://7venthsun.com/event/break-the-silence/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fundraising event</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> this week). The brewery’s </span><a href="https://7venthsun.com/beer/saison-du-soleil/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saison Du Soleil</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was refreshing, egalitarian and necessary, because it might be 11pm but it’s still </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/rise-up-ringing-climate-march-rising-tide-international.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">utterly intolerable where we live</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (no, I was not kidding about Category 6 hurricanes). You can volunteer for or donate to CASA </span><a href="https://www.casa-stpete.org/get-involved/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at their website</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thus it was that I arrived back at Fubar for </span><a href="https://sladeandthewasters.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slade and the Wasters</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, not wasted, but certainly appropriately buzzed. One way that it’s appropriate is that I am a music critic on the buzz-cutting edge, having “discovered” The Wasters about </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/08/rise-above-above-snakes-red-calling-slade-and-the-wasters-fubar.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7 weeks ago</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at this very venue despite their having been on the local circuit for some half a decade. And now they are breaking up, with this being most likely their final St. Pete show because Tommy Slade is moving to the cool climate of Washington State. This guy gets it! “The hottest September on record and you guys are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">staying</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? Sucks for you.” Coast-swapping however should not be mistaken for coasting, with three new tracks performed and slated (Sladed?) for a “Tupac style” free download a few months from now. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The band waste no time here either, burning through a few dozen songs of their disparate era hardcore that evokes everything from early Offspring to Nirvana, justifying some of my comparisons with a handful of tasty covers. These include </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Apologies</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and fucking </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re Gonna Fight</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by fucking 7 Seconds! It almost makes up for my missing Kevin and co during their nearly 4 decade existence (they split in March) in which time I never got round to seeing them.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bands are like people: they aren’t going to be around forever, so don’t wait till the farewell tour to let them know how you feel. Neither will material goods (especially at the rate we’re turning them into, er, </span><a href="https://www.monbiot.com/2018/09/12/plastic-soup/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">waste</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). So make their use worthwhile and share them around, as The non-Wasters do here by announcing that all of their merch is now free. An almost youthful crush ensues around the stage. If you can make something this compelling in musical styles this long in the tooth, your time? Not totally wasted.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can see some footage of Slade and The Wasters' set at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/494442341033589/?active_tab=discussion" target="_blank">event page</a>.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Image may contain: text" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/40098634_10155407801626415_4004520892817211392_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&oh=2f9b0832471bea62f2cef9dce6a702f6&oe=5C4C3BDB" style="height: 683px; width: 442px;" /></span></span></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-46596374758059209822018-10-06T08:15:00.000-07:002018-10-06T08:27:56.765-07:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1a15aa52-7fff-d7d5-b110-b1e73223d884" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Iron Reagan/Debt Neglector/Leviathan Cross</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, September 24th, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fubar, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reality Asylum/Slow Code/Laser Mouth</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, September 24th, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg FL</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/author/james/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A last minute tour addition for thrash monsters Iron Reagan lead to this free gig clash in venues one street apart. For the organisers of both, coordination was not just considerate but wise, and so we were treated to three hours of almost non-stop sock rocks and the chance to improve our pedometer scores. First on the roster of unique bands is </span><a href="https://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/09/living-for-logan-jolly-fuckers-laser-mouth-broken-things-low-season-fubar.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">recent discovery</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for me, </span><a href="https://lasermouth.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laser Mouth</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. While still pushing the big screen animation, the drumz-powered noise duo aren’t accompanied by a light show this time around. Perhaps lights or lasers would be dangerously blinding in an Emerald Bar, or perhaps the band suspected we were all sensitive because of the storm that had raged for hours earlier in the evening, turning my laundry attempts into a nightmarish survival run. Laser Mouth are, importantly, still loud and fun though, and provide us the excuse to enjoy a three minute cat video under the pretense of a (slightly) higher art setting than normal.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next is an act who might well have orchestrated the lightning show as a backdrop for their performance, mystic doom rockers </span><a href="https://leviathancross.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leviathan Cross</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. With a name that suggests </span><a href="http://symbolism.wikia.com/wiki/The_Leviathan_Cross" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a love of sulphur and fire</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> outstripping even Four Fists and their upcoming </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/four-fists-6666-doomtree-2018/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> album</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the band provide slick slabs of heaviness as thick as the crowd of bodies that has already gathered in anticipation of the Ironborn. It speaks volumes that I’d rarely be drawn to something of this character, but it’s good, intense material with a strong set ending. The Tampa group released their second EP </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Is Dust</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in late August. They’ll be supporting another underground big shot, once again at Fubar, on October 21st, when they play with </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/319851955436877/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Torche and Horsewhip</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> just in time for the Deathly Hallows.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You won’t hear it from many punk scribes, but there’s a lot in the world that could be improved by a proper slowing down. Slower food, slower work, slow economic growth (preferably followed in short order by </span><a href="https://steadystate.org/setting-things-straight-for-the-steady-state/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">degrowth then a steady state economy</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). I expect that these beliefs are broadly shared by Seattle’s weighty post-hardcore thinkers </span><a href="https://slowcodewa.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slow Code</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. On new record </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wastelayer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, vocalist Charlie Wagner is reminiscent of Dennis Lyxzén of Refused (makes sense) and Daryl Taberski of Snapcase (who were originally called Solid State). Live those vocals are a bit harder to make out, rather like obtuse economic messages, no matter how important they might be to those of us shouting against the tide of “common sense” in the mainstream. The band are on stop twenty-five of a forty date tour to be fair, and pretty goddamn far from their usual climate. For the final third of their stretch Slow Code reach down inside to utter a few words of thanks and their energy levels perk up. I was unreasonably excited to learn that the song </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Semiascetic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was an ode to the late Mark Fisher, who (like me in many pieces this year) was all into talking about the politics of time through music culture, or </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Slow Cancellation of the Future</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as he put it. Apparently I equally made Slow Code’s tour when they learned I had heard of him. Being a nerd punk is not always about referencing Nintendo games.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heading back to Fubar, Paul from </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Leadfoot-Promotions-151571975497060" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leadfoot Promotions</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is all about both the Slow Code and literal lead footedness, limping defiantly along on crutches after a bike ride gone astray. Dedication. With the preceding act having raised the bar on artistic academia, </span><a href="https://debtneglector.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Debt Neglector</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are expected to deliver something along the rhetorical lines of David Graeber (anarchist author of the celebrated </span><a href="https://libcom.org/library/debt-first-5000-years-extracts" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Debt: The First 5000 Years</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). While such specific predictions can only lead to disappointment, the Orlando melodic punks do have a pretty political backbone, featuring Alex Goldfarb of New Mexican Disaster Squad on the mic, and making a special dedication here to the bands with serious messages that influenced them. The cover of their first album </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Atomicland</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> brings to mind a few relevant things, such as public circus distractions and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Punk-O-Rama VI</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> artwork, and their upcoming EP </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kids Are Pissed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (out October 26th on Smartpunk Records) features a Descendents-influenced song about the anti-Nazi dissidents in The White Rose. The Debt Neglecter practice space was shittily robbed a few days prior to the gig, so anyone in Florida who comes across an Orange Terror 500 bass head and an Orange Thunderverb 50 guitar head for sale should get in touch with them.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://realityasylum.bandcamp.com/releases" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reality Asylum</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">recently won the title of </span><a href="https://local.cltampa.com/publication/best-of-the-bay/creative-loafing-tampa-bay-best-of-the-bay-2018/arts-and-entertainment.NtPVKe/best-no-wave-violation-of-personal-space" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best No Wave Violation of Personal Space</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the Best of The Bay awards. I’d like to take this opportunity to award them their “Most Likely to Appear in Radical Beat” award for the year also. Moog manipulator Ricky begins by dedicating the set today to a friend of theirs, MJ, a longtime roadie and Jannus employee who passed earlier in the day (R.I.P. to him). I was shocked just a little while before getting here to learn that Tampa Bay had also lost </span><a href="https://www.wmnf.org/tampa-bay-activist-sydney-eastman-dies/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sydney Eastman</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a too-young activist for immigrant rights and sex workers rights that I met a few months ago at the Tampa </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/07/breaking-the-ice-occupy-ice-tampa.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Occupy ICE camp</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Fucking shit state of affairs, it is. Eastman would no doubt have respected singer Lauren’s shameless sexuality owning, and with the excitement of their new accolade she seems to be pushing the wild furniture climbing to a new level. You want to abandon a beer? Well fuck that beer. You like smoking in here? Fuck that full ashtray. You want to go watch Iron Reagan? Well we will make it as difficult to pull yourself away as possible. New material is starting to sneak into the Reality Asylum setlists, like the squelchy Prodigy-esque number </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/reality-asylum/strangler-gloves-1" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Strangler Gloves</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and despite listening to them a bunch this year I remain excited to see what they have coming up.</span></span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-e5111fc3-7fff-0e0b-99c2-d81c55244b30" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The entire floorspace of Fubar is a human blender of protein as </span><a href="https://ironreagan.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Iron Reagan</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> begin their performance. The lack of room relegates me to the backside of the stage, where I get a very good view of bassist Rob Skotis’s arse, and damn near all the band’s backsides. Considering we are living through what the layperson might call “the arse end of Reaganomics” (the neoliberal zombie staggering on 10 years post-crisis), it seems perfectly appropriate, and besides, not seeing Iron Reagan’s faces makes them about 0% less fun to watch. It’s a fucking blast, whether screaming </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fuck The Neighbors</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with 150 adrenaline junkies or wondering if someone will take up Tony Foresta at his request that someone stage dives off the goddamn bar. I’m so used to the arses that I’m thrown off guard when Foresta about faces, marches directly towards me and leans down to ask “Is anyone from Debt Neglector out there?,” meaning outside, where I essentially am standing. Um, dunno mate. I didn’t really get a photographic memory of their faces when they played. Nice to see you have a </span><a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/siberian-meat-grinder-metal-bear-stomp-destiny-records-2017/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Siberian Meat Grinder</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shirt on though. Covers include Aus-Rotten’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fuck Nazi Sympathy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and something by Cannibal Corpse, received by the human protein with the same excitement as all of Iron Reagan’s own catalogue. As the waves of people careen all over the place I’m inclined to ask myself</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHY DID YOU WEAR SANDALS YOU DAFT FUCKING HIPPY? Even crossover thrash fan </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2017/08/vans-journeys-warped-tour-july-2017.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus Christ</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is wearing sensible boots!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The new Iron Reagan EP </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dark Days Ahead</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is out October 12th on Pop Wig Records. Hear the preview track </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patronizer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at </span><a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-428171111" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soundcloud</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></div>
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RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003667057476643392.post-44201729190725400332018-10-02T02:23:00.000-07:002018-10-02T02:23:24.678-07:00<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-23529b94-7fff-6490-925e-a7ab1ff3489f" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Four Fists</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doomtree, 2018</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published at <a href="http://apathyandexhaustion.com/author/james/" target="_blank">Apathy & Exhaustion</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="400" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/mn30UMPYWG98N7KtsuFcTIBmQYabub9ED6JBPlZB2J0lZ10Qo6krse7jSB331FDQ-NKz6LrpyQdA60xCUoCwkK4nXb2dc0hDo_vezfEBnrNrIuw0WpVOBERiK6NGZWyOv7qas4E" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During the 2000s, Apathy & Exhaustion’s tireless editor Tony was the co-owner of Roadkill Records, a punk shop haven located in a part of Manchester with a minimal amount of road traffic. The counter there was a place to find a deep well of satisfying music talk and cynical humour, much like the website you’re reading this on. I remember a lot of conversations that I had at Roadkill, partially because my memory is weird and partly because I used to spend hours hanging around there, shaping my young mind into the knowledgeable quip organ that you’re today familiar with. On one occasion a group of us were talking about things we liked that were outside the punk sphere, and I redirected the question towards our man Nurgle. “I don’t really like… anything.” Laughter, as Tony considers the potato lunch that we were previously discussing. “I like chips.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tony will probably tell you that he can respect anything that keeps it real, but as the above story suggests, his interest has always struck as more about staggering depth than unwieldy breadth. So where did this assignment come from, a hip hop album put out by independent backpacker collective Doomtree? It quickly became clear upon first listening to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or at least explainable. The two artists that make up Four Fists, Astronautalis and P.O.S., have organic roots in the punk scene, and it shows on this album. P.O.S. has been in hardcore bands such as Building Better Bombs, and Wharf Rats with members of Anti-Flag and Gallows (thankfully for Tony’s blood pressure, not his go-to journalistic punching bag Frank Turner). Astronautalis had his last solo album out on SideOneDummy Records, and drops most of the mohawked easter eggs here, with references to Minor Threat, Suicidal Tendencies, Superchunk, skateboarding and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sid Vishis</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (but sadly, considering he’s a Florida boy in his thirties, no Hot Water Music or Against Me!). So it’s a rap album simmering in punk seasoning: a crossover of genres that I’m considering trying to write a book on.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then there’s Joe Strummer, to whom we find significant dedication nuggets on at least three tracks. Strummer hasn’t featured this heavily in hip hop since St. Pete’s conscious fusion ensemble </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/search?q=the+real+clash" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Real Clash</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> were innocently touring the area, back before their name was TRC but after it was The Real Clash of The Titans (I’m fairly sure they’ll be represented by a symbol by this time next year). The amount of revolutionary dissatisfaction present on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> certainly evokes something like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sandinista!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the early steps that 1980 album took in making hip hop a global phenomenon. There’s the once again </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/03/great-collapse-neither-washington-nor-moscow-again-end-hits.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">despicably relevant</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ivan Meets G.I. Joe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, where the Cold War superpowers forgo killing us all in favour of a dance contest, or </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Magnificent Seven</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, where Joe raps over a funky beat against the shitty grind of employment and shopping and the violence that underpins the whole rotten thing.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thematic centrality of Strummer this long after his 2002 death, not to mention his heyday as a musician, suggests that the concern for Four Fists is not that there is No Future For You, but that the future ain’t what it used to be, like an album by London producer Burial. “Joe Strummer's been dead for too damn long/And now we’re all just numb to what's gone wrong.” Optimism and forward momentum are like fossil fuels, mined from the dumps of the past because the fields today are giving out diminishing returns. Jeff Rosenstock did a similar thing on his </span><a href="http://radicalbeatwriting.blogspot.com/2018/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POST-</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> record earlier this year, longing for the old master to come back and help us. Well he isn’t going to, okay! (A review of Rosenstock’s forthcoming Antarctigo Vespucci album is coming soon.) The work of the various producers here reflects a kind of mourning for optimistic sounds too yet manages to be exciting. It’s often electronically futuristic but covered in dust and grit and sulphur. The combination of darkness and vitality found in the name Doomtree is present. Occasionally I want the tracks to amp up just one more notch and am left wanting, but I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another way that this view of slipping time shows up is in the album’s sense of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">urgency</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. As far as the luxury of making gradual changes to the economic beast that enslaves us goes, those days might fast be coming to an end. Images of fire and insurrection run all the way through </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Opener </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nobody’s Biz</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about being in favour of guns for defense against cops, shocking your liberal friends being a worthy pastime. (Chorus: “I want a riot white riot white riot of my own” -- Four Fists are a black/white duo, for the record.) My own thinking has evolved on this over the years, in a way that's not just romanticising the notion of “strictly self-defense or for revolution” (as my man Rakaa Iriscience once said), even though that essentially covers it. There’s a difference between believing that a society would be better off were it not filled with murderous weaponry, and seeing, first-hand, the towering heights of structural violence directed at regular people, and how those people might protect themselves. This insane country will radicalise anyone, even if, as in my case, it's from a fairly radical baseline. I expect I’ll be labelled a mad wannabe yank by people back home, but if I understand correctly it will be my right as a wannabe yank to </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/13/us/stand-your-ground-florida-shooting-charges/index.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stand my ground and shoot you</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for invading the space around my fragile sense of self.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the chorus of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joe Strummer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Astronautalis laments that “We don’t fight, we don’t riot/Even when the war’s outside our door.” There’s a feeling among the militant </span><a href="https://www.sevenstories.com/books/3566-the-anti-american-manifesto" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ted Rall</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s of the world that at some point the cultural divide over the gun issue is going to leave us fucked, and it’s bedtime for democracy (whatever that muppet stuffed with cash is worth at this point) and hello </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Handmaid's Tale</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Still, I don't actually learn how to fire a gun because that still seems fucking absurd to a boy raised in Timperley, and it's not like my own two skinny fists and freegan diet are going to help much when the shit hits the fan. But then maybe my reasoning that I will simply escape to the motherland when events so far haven't inspired me to is getting equally absurd. Jesus, this got dark... Over the pumping dark electro beat of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Annihilation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (from producer ICETEP), the Fists are joined in the album’s only feature by Sims. The track rails against the idiotic priorities of the corporate gentrification state, that we may as well burn down “like a strike anywhere match” before it inevitably burns itself down with us inside (“Water startin just to look like luxury/Oil starting just to taste like food/God really just must love ugly?/Or he never just listened to you”).</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Several cuts have themes that are slightly less hopeless and warrant some thoughts. On the echoey, dubsteppish battle track </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bobby Hill</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (“that boy ain’t right but he’s all I got” being perhaps how many Americans feel about their nation) someone is accused of being “old and irrelevant like KRS-One.” I’m glad to hear a critique of the once great KRS as he goes down the Dale Gribble rabbit hole of insane conspiracy theory bullshit, and the drawing of a dividing line between that world and the dissident left. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coriolanus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about trying and failing to deal with your demons. P.O.S: “That out of step with the world’s/A common refrain/To every stretched out T-shirt teen/Who thinks the world is mean/And every girl who finds her chest obscene/Cuz her friends have dads/And men are fuckin trash.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sid Vishis</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cracks and crunches under colourful keyboard ruffles, an anti-materialistic sequel to P.O.S.’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fuck Your Stuff</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that’s sure to be a cranked up live favourite (“I got lotsa nothing/Steady clogging up my living space/I can’t give away enough to salvage what is truly great”).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The classic cartoon imagery continues on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dork Court</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, part digital media dismissal and part amusingly harsh out-of-nowhere disses (“Don’t try to tell me J. Cole’s worth a listen/He just writes the same shit over/Like Bart in detention!”). There’s a strange -- but many would say always welcome -- bash of Noel Gallagher, although in “the nice one’s” defence he did have one of the </span><a href="http://exclaim.ca/music/article/uk_referendum_poll_dredges_up_battle_of_britpop_between_blur_and_oasis" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">best opinions on the Brexit trainwreck</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that I’ve read throughout all these years of uncertainty, as the March deadline looms ever closer to stripping us of a layer of citizenship. Ah, to hear Strummer’s nuanced opinion on that juxtaposed with Johnny Rotten’s! On the album closer </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unjinxed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the attitude seems to be that if you can’t go home anymore, go big. Under a gorgeous and wild beat of swirling, machine gun electronics and housey pianos with an Avalanches texture, we are given one more cup of Joe to enjoy, in which he rambles about love and positivity and chaos in a chaotic and comforting way. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re a fan of Run The Jewels there’s a good chance you’ll get a lot out of this long-awaited debut Four Fists album. The menacing bass vibrations, colourful sprinkle blinks and angry messaging remind of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Run The Jewels 2 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in particular, and unlike Killer Mike’s pro-gun messaging, I don’t think P.O.S. and Astronautalis are going to be played like fiddles by the NRA. With a similar South-North contrast in their accents, P.O.S delivers much faster than his counterpart, coming in like a reminder that movement and action must accompany contemplation. I once saw Astronautalis perform in Tampa, and got to meet him, but I’ve never really noticed P.O.S, which I now see has been a huge mistake on a par with not really delving into Propagandhi until I was 21. This music, despite the title, is not by the numbers.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Four Fists</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is an </span><a href="https://www.enotes.com/topics/the-four-fists" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F. Scott Fitzgerald short</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about a man who learns lessons from the punches he takes to his mug; a sentiment captured in the humble strength of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6666</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> title track with its self-doubts and closing refrain of “I ain’t dead.” That's the sort of attitude we’ll have to have to our licks if we are ever to see the day when we emerge from under our literal shitstorm (see the recently </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/climate/florence-hog-farms.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hurricane hammered hog waste mega farms</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of North Carolina). And I suspect, when those days come, that rather than the Clash of fast guitars blasting through speakers to keep revellers moving, it will more often sound something like this. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>6666 </i>will be releasing on October 12th, and you can see the approximately six thousand different pre-order bonus items at <a href="http://www.doomtree.net/2018/08/14/p-o-s-astronautalis-announce-debut-alubm-as-four-fists/">Doomtree</a>. You can also hear the three preview tracks at that link. Immediately following the release Four Fists are doing several months of touring through the U.S. and Europe (Manchester, but not Florida, go figure).</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>RadicalBeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08746162456245469855noreply@blogger.com0